Stay With Me
by Jeralee
Summary: AU. Based off DMC5 and sequel to Before I Die Alone. Having retained his memories of her, V finds Vergil's mate. V x OC. On hiatus
1. The Necromancer

Hi everyone, I have decided to try a V fic, mostly because holy hell I love V and DMC in general. I still have _Grimdark_ to finish but wanted to write this also. If you have read my other fic _Before I Die Alone_ which was full of things ranging from hellish demons, deities, mystical places, resurrections, torture, lemon, and lots of death where people got killed, got eaten alive etc etc…then you might have an inkling of what to expect in this fic too, although I might leave out the lemons.

I feel DMC5 is darker than the other games and this fic will revolve around after the events of _Before I Die Alone_, which I could have written a lot better. So whilst I still figure some things out, this fic will be considered AU.

Unfortunately my summary does contain **MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE GAME**: V resurrects Lucy. As he is the manifestation of Vergil's humanity, he retains memory of her and loves her unconditionally.

At the moment, I am just testing the waters with this. May or may not continue, may be a short fic or long fic. I'm not sure, but hope you enjoy it anyway.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own DMC, it belongs to Capcom

* * *

**THE NECROMANCER**

_"There is no God, no universe, no human race, no earthly life, no heaven, no hell. It is all a dream – a grotesque and foolish dream. Nothing exists but you. And you are but a thought – a vagrant thought, a useless thought, a homeless thought, wandering forlorn among the empty eternities."_

...

...

...

The doors opened with a loud creak and soft footsteps could be heard entering the hall.

Stopping in mid-prayer, the old woman re-opened her withered eyes and slowly peered over her right shoulder. A young man with sleek black hair and a silver cane in hand stood at the doorway. Dark green eyes scanned the premises, wandering over the numerous empty pews, the large candles and the statue and altar at the far end of the hall, before his gaze landed on the little frail woman at the very centre who was kneeling, wrinkled hands clasped together gently.

"...May I help you?" She enquired, as he lifted his cane and took a small step forwards. It was uncommon for the convent to receive visitors these days.

"Good evening," He replied, with a thin smile. "...Are you Vicar Berelia?"

She nodded. "Yes, I am."

Letting his gaze linger up to the ceiling and over the walls, he stepped further into the hall. "A long time ago, this was a home for orphans...and one day it fell under attack by a demon who attempted to resurrect the Demon King, Mundus. Every inhabitant was killed as a sacrifice." The man continued, walking further and further towards her. The smile never left his lips as he marvelled the interior. It was dark and dank, the only source of light being the white candles lining the walls of all shapes and sizes. She found him strange, although he was not terribly out of the ordinary. One would believe he would be a ruffian of some sort, judging by the sprawling tattoos running down the length of his arms and fingers, but here he was speaking to her in the softest manner. And his outfit...what an interesting choice of clothing indeed. The weather was frightful outside yet here he was thinly dressed in a sleeveless black leather jacket that reached his legs and matching sandals.

Vicar Berelia nodded, a little meekly, as she swerved her gaze to the side and back to him. The man finally reached her after the long walk, settling himself down on the bench closest to her. He exhaled gently under his breath as he settled his gaze to the stone statue before them - a woman with her eyes closed, arms cradling a small infant - and Vicar Berelia nodded again. "Yes, that's right. It was a dreadful tragedy. God bless their souls."

"Yet the only survivor was a young woman. How...peculiar." He murmured. Slipping a hand into the innards of his jacket, he took out a beautiful brown book embroidered with gold edges, and opened it to a page. "_To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love. All pray in their distress; and to these virtues of delight. Return their thankfulness_... If you'd be so kind...please show me where they're buried, I wish to pay my respects..."

Blinking, Vicar Berelia nodded once more. "Follow me."

She escorted the young man out of the hall and towards the rear, opening the door that would lead them to the backyard where numerous gravestones lay scattered randomly in the area. It was a large expanse, holy ground, and she stayed at the door with umbrella in hand whilst the young man entered the yard, his feet crunching over leaves and grass. The wind howled and the rain poured and she had another umbrella in hand, offering it to him.

"Young man, you'll catch a cold if you don't use this." She said, having to raise her voice an octave or two in order to be heard over the bad weather.

"I am fine, thank you." She heard him mutter as he slowly made his way past a few gravestones with his cane, glancing at each etching, muttering under his breath. "Father Richard Thomas Johnstone...no..."

"Are you looking for someone?" She called out, but she received no response.

The young man ventured further and further until he was at the edge of the graveyard, stopping at one of the stones which she knew belonged to the only survivor of the demon attack of St Orsola. It was the grave that belonged to a young woman, who although survived the attack, had then passed away one or two years later. Shaking her head, Vicar Berelia watched sadly as the young man proceeded to kneel before the gravestone, lowering the cane to lie beside him on the mossy ground. He must know her, she thought, maybe they were family.

Berelia continued to watch as he raised an arm, reaching for it, and let his fingers gently lay on the top of the stone, the rough grit and grain stabbing the bottom of his fingertips. "Lucy..." He muttered under his breath, as he traced his fingers over her etched name. The date of the grave indicated she was only twenty years old when she died. He closed his eyes and rest his forehead over the stone.

"It's getting late." He heard the vicar call to him. "Why don't you stay for the rest of the night?"

...

Vicar Berelia was a kind old woman. She originally lived in The Ostrivira, but was reassigned by the ministry to take up residence in the convent after the original pastor, Father Johnstone, was killed. Although St Orsola's was larger than most churches, she was the only person living there. She had tried to build up a team of caretakers to look after the convent in the past, in order to help clean the rooms, the halls, maintain the garden, tend to the flowers and water the plants...but unfortunately she'd seen many resignations during the years from petrified nuns and fathers and other citizens, namely because of numerous sightings of ghosts and various hauntings. Vicar Berelia didn't see anything or hear anything so she stayed. She stayed and grew old with the building. She stayed and renewed her faith every day and night, so she believed those who didn't stay were not devout enough.

She was cooking soup in the kitchen. The lack of guests and visitors meant she only had modest supplies namely for herself and a few stray cats and dogs that stumbled across her doorstep over the weekends. She also had bread and water, the basics, which she would eat herself. She built a fire and let him sit at the table whilst she went to get his room ready. She'd chosen the room that overlooked the graveyard since he seemed enamoured by it, having stayed a good ten or twenty minutes in relentless downpour and roaring wind kneeling in front of the gravestone earlier on.

"Your dinner." Berelia laid out the bowl of piping warm soup for him and a spoon, whilst she settled in her chair with only the bread and water.

He noticed. "You are very kind, but this..." He murmured, smiling that thin smile of his.

"You are my guest, young man, so I insist. I will be fine."

"...Thank you." He said, "Are you the only one who lives here?"

She nodded. "Do you like ghost stories?"

A dark eyebrow rose.

Chuckling, Berelia said, "At night, you can hear the faint pitter patter of children's footsteps. In the study, a headless figure in black stands at the bookcase. In the graveyard, a pale figure in white wanders, searching for her lost love. And in the third floor dormitory...one can hear disembodied laughter from room three hundred and thirty three when the clock strikes midnight."

He dipped his spoon into the soup, lifting it to his mouth. "Interesting..."

Berelia finished her bread, staring into the fire. "They are all rumours, of course. This convent is quite safe. There used to be many others, but they left very soon." She uttered; he chuckled darkly in response and it fell silent. He finished his meal and she finished her cup of water. Watching him curiously, she added, "What is your name?"

"V."

"_V_?"

"Yes."

"Is it short for anything?"

Silence befell once again. When she looked at him, waiting for his reply, she noticed he was staring quietly at his empty bowl. However, a fraction of a second later and he looked up and smiled at her, his eyes creasing. "Thank you for the meal. Please excuse me..."

"Ah, yes. Of course."

"Is my room prepared?"

"Yes, it is. Upstairs, first door to the left."

"Thank you." He promptly left with his silver cane in hand.

Berelia was left alone.

...

Once she finished washing up in the kitchen, she left some extra food on the table in case her guest was still hungry during the night but placed a heavy, transparent plastic cover over to prevent the rats trying to get through. Then she locked up the convent's front doors and back door and retired upstairs to her room to get ready for the rest of the night. Her guest should be in his room too, and she hadn't heard a peep from him since so she hoped he was resting well. After taking her bath, she read a few pages from the bible and prayed, then blew out the candle and closed her eyes. She would sleep for what seemed like a long time when she heard a loud clap of thunder and a bright streak of lightning leaked into the room. Despite the thick curtains that would've prevented light from entering, she managed to sense the light behind her closed eyelids and when the window slammed open, the wind howling and the curtains billowing, she opened her eyes and sat up.

"...Oh my...what a terrible storm."

Her clock indicated it was three am. Slipping out of her warm bed, Berelia slid her weak feet into her slippers and shuffled over to the window, grabbing hold of the flapping curtains and trying to reach for the lever only to come to a jarring halt.

V was outside.

He was standing in the graveyard before an unearthed grave. It was the stone he'd stopped at earlier, the one he kneeled down in front of. The grave had been exhumed, the lid of the coffin was uncovered, revealing decayed skeletal remains within.

Shock and anger flowed through her veins at once. "_No!_" She hissed, "How dare you!" Leaving the window, she grabbed her robe and left her room in a hurry; outside and she could hear the fury of the storm. The rain lashed and pelted the windows and walls, the thunder booming. Berelia arrived at the backdoor and unlocked it, flinging it open. "What are you doing?!" She screamed, as V stood with his back to her.

He was reading from his book and chanting in a language she wasn't familiar with, and he wasn't alone. To his left was a dark beast, a panther. On his right was a large black bird that was flapping its large wings. It had a brilliant blue plumage, and upon sensing her arrival, it turned to her direction.

"Hey V, check it out!" The bird abruptly flew over and stopped in front of her, "Listen up, lady! If I were you, I'd stand waaaay over there."

Berelia's mouth opened in shock. A _bird_ was talking to her! "W-what's going on?!" She shrieked, but she was ignored as the bird promptly returned to V, who had finished reciting and the thunder, the rain and the lightning stopped all at once.

A bright light flashed, emitting from the coffin. A cataclysmic, thunderous sound rocked the atmosphere and an invisible force almost knocked her off her feet if she hadn't been clutching the doorway in fright.

There was a long silence.

She had to shield her eyes and when the light died down, she stared as V made his way towards the coffin and reached inside. The bird and the beast followed, stopping before him. The panther sat on its haunches like a domesticated animal, purring low, tail wagging gently. The bird had gone quiet, using one side of the coffin as a perch. Her eyes widened in disbelief as V lifted up naught a skeleton but a naked female from the coffin and into his arms. Her eyes were closed. A pretty young thing, she had long lashes and high cheekbones. He was smiling the entire time as he stared at her, his eyes straying over her face before he gently placed a hand over her cheek. She did not stir.

Berelia's legs finally gave way under her and she collapsed against the wall in sheer terror.

And as he approached her, carrying the unconscious girl in his arms, he smiled and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, Vicar Berelia."

Stunned, Berelia could do nothing except nod dumbly.


	2. Lucy

Hello again, thanks for the support. Thanks to everyone who fav/added this story to their alerts, thanks for the reviews and also to Cryocene who gave me the heads up that V had been added to the board (the fic has now been amended appropriately). I was really surprised to see how many people enjoyed the first chapter and it's very nice to know a lot of people would like to see more of this fic. Here is chapter 2, and I hope you enjoy. I'm still trying to figure things out, so let's see how it goes. V is so fecking adorable. I absolutely love the guy.

Chapter 1 utilised a quote from Mark Twain's "The Mysterious Stranger" whilst today's chapter intro is from "Once Upon A Dream". I've been listening to Lana Del Rey a lot and thought her version of the song suited the mood of this chapter.

* * *

**LUCY**

_"I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream._  
_I know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam._  
_And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem_  
_But if I know you, I know what you'll do, you'll love me at once,_  
_the way you did once upon a dream."_

...

...

...

Naked and cold, a young man ventured through the empty, lonely halls of the abandoned Red Grave Manor.

He was still in a daze, not quite aware but at least comprehending. In the darkness, he felt his way using his hands and stumbled upon his parent's old bedroom; he hesitated as memories flooded through him and a rush of emotions were threatening to spill out when he spotted the smashed picture frame of his parents lying on the floor, surrounded by shards of broken glass. It had been untouched for years because neither himself or his brother had been home and no outsider had ever trespassed. For his sake, he knew of the effect it would have on him. Picking up the old photograph, he placed it on the mantlepiece and let it rest against the wall where it rightfully should be.

Closing his eyes, his teeth clenched. A demon murdered his mate. If only he had been stronger. If only he had more _power, if only he_ -

He re-opened his eyes. Not now. Not here. There were more pressing matters at hand, so there was no time to reminiscence. Time was of the essence.

He averted his attention to his father's cupboard in the corner. He would be embarking on a journey so it was best to be prepared as much as possible. His father's cupboard was the only remaining object that was of particular interest to him - it stood proudly at the far right of the room, beckoning to him. Opening the drawers, he saw that everything was covered in mould and bitten by moths. A black jacket, pants and sandals that were folded underneath his father's many coats and cravats were the only items of clothing that were intact due to the material being a special type of leather. With no choice, he donned the leather jacket and pants, slipped his feet into the shoes and then spotted a cracked mirror hanging on the wall. There was no lighting so he used the moonlight to inspect himself.

Short white hair parted to the right, dark green eyes, thin lips... he still had a pale complexion but the sides of his face were gaunt, his cheekbones high. He didn't look like Vergil at all.

She wouldn't know who he was.

No-one would.

...

**Present.**

"Having fun over there, lover boy?"

"...It's almost done...just a little...more."

"What a darn shame. No more nakey-lady."

As usual, Griffon was not shy of verbal taunts no matter what the situation. V was engrossed with the task of dressing the new addition to their travelling party - the newly resurrected human female that would be under his care and protection from now on. He had been smiling the entire time as he safely carried her all the way from the convent to the woods, leaving poor Vicar Berelia sitting on the floor in a fit of hysterics, screaming her lungs out.

The resurrection was successful but now he was thoroughly exhausted.

"Say, it's a miracle you got this far without keeling over, Romeo." Griffon commented with a snicker, "And here I thought we'd end up summoning some shitbag straight outta hell who'll be dyin' to get a piece of us. I sure hope you know what you're doin'."

"Of course..." V murmured, smiling wryly at his feathery friend. Griffon was his only companion who was bestowed with the ability to communicate with him but unfortunately most of the words to come out of the demon bird was a mix of unpleasant obscenities and modern day trash-talk. Griffon was truly gifted in many ways and he used his gift wisely, indeed.

V had prepared beforehand so he had some clothes for her (lest she die again, albeit this time of pneumonia); although dressing her proved to be quite the challenging task. She kept slouching or slumping against him, dropping over his front or flopping over the ground. He had to hold her in place so he could slip the plain black dress over her head and past her shoulders, before sliding her left arm into the sleeve and he ended up propping her against him, her cheek resting against his chest. She was warm to touch... and also very naked. He did not let that distract him from his goal. He also had to admit that his choice of attire for her was handpicked by himself and he was pleased to see that she suited the color.

"Uh...V?" Griffon said, as he pecked messily at a feast of fresh dead rats beside them.

V lifted her right arm and slotted her into the remaining sleeve. "Yes?"

"Look."

V glanced over where he could see that her eyes were open. His breath lodged in his throat, fast. "Lucy?" Her name escaped his lips quietly, barely audible above a whisper, but she didn't respond.

The bird flew off the rock and landed onto the low-hanging branch of a nearby tree. "Is this definitely the right gal? What's so special about her anyway... and whatsa matter with her?" Inching over, he gave the side of her head a few pecks and began to tug and pull her hair with his beak but she didn't respond to him either.

"_Griffon_." He warned, and the bird let go as V reached forwards, holding her hand in his placidly. Her skin was pale, smooth and soft as he brushed his thumb over the back of her palm in an attempt to elicit some form of response. "Lucy? It's...It's me." He murmured, but there was nothing - not even a blink of the eye. V's brows knotted tightly and he promptly let go of her hand, scooping the sides of her face into his large palms, lifting her face up to his. Their noses were almost touching, lips millimetres away...he gazed into her eyes but he could not see his reflection in her pupils, only a sea of green. Disappointment bubbled inside him at once. "So it would seem..." He began, his head low as he pinched the gap between his brows with his fingers, "...Her full recovery may take a while."

Exhaling silently, he slowly released her and moved his hands to her shoulders, gently lowering her to rest over the ground; her eyes were still open, glassy eyes staring endlessly at the dark sky. He left her lying over the trunk of the tree, nestled between the thick roots whilst he seated himself by her side. He won't leave her, no, he needed and wanted to be close to her as much as possible. V brushed his hand over her cheek and threaded his fingers into her hair, fingering silky, loose strands that framed the sides of her face. Then he took her hand again and held it, gripping her warm fingers lightly.

Griffon shook himself vigorously, feathers ruffling. "Well, this is just peachy! I get that you love her, hence the whole light show back there, but look at her; she's a fucking vegetable!" The bird exclaimed in frustration and anger, only for V to point the tip of his cane at him, effectively silencing him in seconds.

"Patience." V uttered darkly under his breath, "...We just need more time."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, slick. Looks like dead weight to me." The bird snorted in response and lifted itself off the perch; in a shower of black dust, he promptly vanished from sight and V's tattoos darkened considerably.

The woods went quiet.

Glancing at Lucy, he gingerly placed his hand over hers again. It had been a long time but his memories of her were strong... from her smile, her laugh, the way she looked at him, how she said his name, the way the sun hit her face, how she would join him and sit by his side and they'd stare at scenery in silence... Lucy was important to him in so many ways. He may have forgotten her, but V didn't. He was driven with a desire for her to return to him by any means necessary. The ceremony was successful and he had resurrected her... her eyes had opened but he didn't detect the faintest hint of life within them. Was there something he missed? Strange...he'd followed the instructions as meticulously as he could in painstakingly detail... he'd pronounced the words correctly...Maybe she needed some form of stimuli?

He used to read to her - that might do the trick - and he remembered she liked it when he read to her, so he fished his book out from his jacket and opened it; he went through his many favourites (...actually, they were all his favourite, so this was a tough decision) and chose one poem which he believed she would like too, and he started reading aloud.

"_Little Lamb who made thee. Dost thou know who made thee. Gave thee life and bid thee feed. By the stream and o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, softest clothing wooly bright_..."

...

"_I a child and thou a lamb, We are called by his name. Little Lamb God bless thee. Little Lamb God bless thee_."

She heard a man's voice piercing through the empty darkness; a voice she didn't recognize.

Velvety and smooth, like melted chocolate for the ears, it was enough to make her stir. Eyes opening, her entire body twitched aggressively, muscles spasming. Her lips parted and a whoosh of air violently entered her lungs, tainting her lips cold, flooding her system with life. Her heart thumped, blood flowing, pulse beating. Entering a harsh coughing fit, Lucy rolled to the side, spluttering and wheezing. Underneath, her palms and fingers were scraping up cold, damp earth.

_...Huh...?_

_What is this...?_

_This is..._

Thoughts.

She had thoughts.

She was conscious again.

Lucy blinked, completely disoriented, then slowly lifted her hands up and stared at her shaking palms as she turned them around. Patting herself, it occurred to her that someone had dressed her.

"Lucy."

She leapt in fright and whipped round to the source. A rather frail-looking young man was before her, thin and pale, his arm outstretched; it appeared he was about to touch her. A book was by his side along with a silver cane. She didn't recognize him. He had black hair, his arms and chest covered entirely in tattoos...he was dressed in black which further heightened his pallid complexion and...why was he looking at her like that? Confused and afraid, she scrambled backwards on her elbows, her bare heels digging into the dirt. However, the more she crawled away from him, the more he came closer. "...W...who..." She croaked out, her voice was weak, "Who...are you...?"

His eyes were soft, his gaze was deep and full of longing. Thin lips parted slightly but no sound came out as he proceeded to stare at her from head to toe, marveling her as though she was a piece of priceless art; he seemed to just be staring at her as she blinked at him numbly whilst waiting for a reply.

"V." He finally said, after a while. "...My name is V."

He spoke quietly and slowly, his voice calm and...soft. Gentle. One corner of his lips tugged upwards slightly although he was not smirking... No, it was some sort of half-smile. It looked somewhat sinister.

"V?"

"Yes, I...brought you here. I brought you back. A long time ago, you chose to let him live and forget...at your own expense. So I will do everything in my power to restore you. Everything."

She didn't understand.

He tried to reach for her again but she backed away once more, glancing around her surroundings in fear. She didn't know this man and she didn't know what he wanted with her. Nothing made sense and whether his intentions were good or evil, there were too many things going on beyond her understanding. Who was this man and what did he want with her? Where was she? What year was it? How much time had elapsed? What happened to Vergil, and what happened to Dante? Where were they?

"Uh...V, I got a bad feeling about this!" exclaimed an agitated voice and Lucy glanced over to see a large dark blue bird hovering near them. A talking bird... how quaint. It only added to her growing confusion.

The man named V did not pay heed to his companion, his full attention on her: "Lucy, let me explain..."

No explanations were needed; she needed to get out of here. Lucy abruptly scrambled up to stand and began running. She heard him calling after her as she threw terrified glances over her shoulder now and then but she didn't stop. Soon, he disappeared from her field of vision completely as she ventured further and further into the woods. It was freezing; she was only donned in the skimpy thin t-shirt dress that barely covered her properly. The soles of her feet crunched over the dried leaves and grass painfully. With no shoes and practically nothing else, this was really not an ideal situation. And where the hell was she anyway? Where was she even meant to be going? To find Vergil? Dante? She ran as fast as she could, following some beaten path that only seemed to lead deeper and deeper into the thick, dense maze only to come to a stop when extremely grotesque creatures suddenly manifested from dark portals, emitting shrill shrieks as they proceeded to surround her. They resembled a praying mantis albeit they were grey-skinned and far more disturbing and larger, with massive mandibles and a fat, bulbous red sac protruding from their rear ends. Her eyes widened.

Demons.

She couldn't believe it.

She was really back.

She had returned to a world full of demons, a world full of evil.

_No...this can't be..._

Lucy's underlying instinct was to flee but the creatures were already closing in on her - however, before one could attack, there was a large crackle of electricity that went hurtling towards the creatures and promptly sent the closest demon flying off its feet. Lucy dropped backwards over the ground in fright. The large black bird from before had returned promptly and he was not alone. It was accompanied with a panther who leapt out from the undergrowth and pounced on the next demon, stabbing at it with it's tail which seemed to have shapeshifted into a lethal spike. Lucy stared wide-eyed as the creatures fought, the sounds of screaming demons filling the air.

"...Please...don't run." said a gentle albeit familiar voice to her left, and Lucy turned to see V approaching her slowly with his cane, looking slightly out of breath. "...I didn't mean to frighten you." As she glanced up at him, he stopped by her side and lowered himself to kneel beside her, using his cane for support as he gestured to the demons, "...And this is not the most ideal place to talk...so, please excuse me." He briefly vanished from her sight and reappeared near an adversary and stabbed his cane into its body, causing the weakened demons to shatter in seconds. Lucy watched, stunned as V quickly disposed of the remaining group in the same manner. When the woods returned to their quiet state, he was panting, gripping the handle of his cane tightly.

"V!" exclaimed the bird as it circled him, "There weren't any demons here before!"

"I know..." He said, "...They're attracted to her. She is, after all... not meant to be one of this world."

The bird let out an annoyed scoff. "Fucking great! This is just what we needed! C'mon, V, let's ditch her!"

"_Griffon_." V's expression turned dark and his lip creased tightly whilst Lucy stared blankly at their interaction. When the bird fell quiet, he turned to Lucy, "If you run away like that again...they'll come after you and this time...well, we won't be here to help you."

It occurred to her that he had issued some kind of veiled threat cleverly concealed behind a gentle smile and kind eyes. "Who _are_ you?"

The corner of his lips merely tugged upwards into a smirk. "...You can find out for yourself if you come with us." As the bird and panther returned to his side, V approached her, holding out one heavily tattooed hand. She bit her lip, uncertain. She still had no idea what the hell was going on. However, it didn't look like she had much of an option. She slowly slipped her hand into his and his pale, longer fingers closed over hers tightly. Suddenly, a weight forced its way underneath her and shoved her up and off the ground - it was the panther, who had slinked behind her without her even noticing - and Lucy stumbled forwards but V's reflexes were surprisingly quick and he caught her, wrapping one arm around the small of her back, pulling her up against him.

"Careful..." He muttered under his breath, and their faces were too close for her liking. Uncomfortable, she hurriedly glanced away and he let go of her.

So...this man was indeed responsible for bringing her back... A deep frown promptly wormed its way over her face. In a split second, she grabbed him by the front of his jacket, pulling his face close once more. Startled, his eyes widened a little and from the corner of his eye, Griffon started soaring towards their direction, surrounded by crackling, dark blue electricity but V quickly held his hand up, stopping the bird from attacking whilst she ignored him and completely occupied with V, she growled out, "WHY? Why would you do this to me? Why did you bring me back? I was in a good place and you took me away...I was happy, I was at peace. I didn't want this. I didn't want to come back! I don't want to be here...To be...to be amongst people, to try and fit in...to come back to this disgusting, horrible hellhole...Why?!"

Before he could respond, as quickly as that random display of anger came bursting out, her eyes went hazy and blank again and her hands abruptly loosened on his jacket. That tiny window of lucidity had disappeared and she had returned to her previous comatose state, staring limply into space, eyes resembling the surface of glass. V watched as her hands slowly slid away from him and returned to her side. Her body swaying, he caught her before she fell, cradling her in his arms. She was completely limp, eyes sliding to a close.

It would be Griffon who would break the ambience of course. "V? Are you okay?!" He squawked, flapping his wings in a frenzy as he circled overhead.

Looking up at the bird, V uttered, "Yes, I'm fine."

"I really thought she was gonna kill ya there! What the hell was that all about?! I told ya this was a bad idea!" He added, "And she's right! The dead oughta stay dead! Why'd you bring her back, huh?"

Throwing his gaze to the girl as she lay unconscious in his arms, V murmured, "...Because she still loves him, and he loves her too."

* * *

**Notes:**

1\. New readers might find it hard to follow this story but I'll do my best so it will still feel like something brand new.

2\. Before I posted this, I had amended the ending of Before I Die Alone and introduced V, but the way how Lucy meets V is different. I was writing it very quickly and thinking of a brief plot, but ultimately decided to change it here.

3\. I was soooo tempted to write 'little chicken' at some points when it came to Griffon. Maybe later hehe.

4\. Also, I can't remember if there was anything written after V was born so I just came up with some stuff


	3. The Lonely Road

Hullo everyone, thanks for the reviews and favs/alerts. Happy Friday!

* * *

**THE LONELY ROAD**

_"No reason to get excited_  
_The thief he kindly spoke_  
_There are many here among us_  
_Who feel that life is but a joke."_

...

...

...

Lucy opened her eyes groggily.

It was dawn, the rising sun bathing the land with a dim orange glow.

Sighing, she rubbed her eyes and glanced around. They had left the woods and now they were at a large meadow. She turned to her left where she saw the same man from yesterday called V who appeared to be in deep sleep, clutching his book and cane as he lay against the trunk of a large tree. To her right was the black panther who was on its front, licking at its paw. Her eyes widened in fright but the beast merely turned to her, hissed and exposed some very long fangs, but otherwise did not pay any attention to her.

Lucy slowly sat up, looked at her hands once more. Oh. She was alive again. She had flesh, bone, skin, nails and hair. She was a human being again. She felt no joy knowing that... knowing that she had returned once more to this world, joining the rest in the rat race again. She felt nothing for she had dreamed. She dreamt she was in _Devil May Cry_ and she was in the room Dante gave her and Vergil was sleeping on the chair. Ah, she recalled these were her fondest memories of the twins, when Dante had allowed her to stay under his roof and both twins were working as demon hunters. It seemed like such a long time ago...

"Finally awake, huh?" A voice snapped her out of her reverie and she looked up to see the dark blue bird perched on a low tree branch close to her. Lucy pushed herself off the ground and stood up, walking towards the bird and stopping before it. As she cocked her head to the left, it mirrored her action. She tilted her head to the right and it copied her too. "What're ya staring at? Never seen a bird before?" He snapped at her, unfolding his wings to their full wingspan, feathers ruffling in progress.

"...And you are?" She said.

"Griffon." He replied proudly, "Don't you forget it now, sweetheart."

She eyed the bird warily in response whilst the panther stretched and sat up but made no move to approach her. "You remind me of Circe." She uttered morosely.

"Who?"

Lucy didn't reply; she turned and ventured further into the meadow and this time, the bird lifted itself off the perch and followed her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it right there, princess! Where'd ya think you're going?"

She ignored him and continued, with the bird following her. The beaten path she was taking seemed to fork into two branches - one to the right and one to the left. The one to the left seemed to be the exit whilst the right lead towards a steep slope. She decided to head to the right and climbed up the hill and once she arrived at the top, she stopped and stared over the edge, staring at the view below. The hill seemed to overlook the entire land, revealing a few scattered villages, roads, towns and the coast. A city could be seen far ahead covered in massive, thick tentacles covered in thorns that seemed to stretch towards the sky, filling it with a demonic red hue.

"What is this place?" She asked.

"What do you think? It's earth, duh. That's the plot twist, sugar - you were on earth all along." Griffon said with a snicker as he hovered beside her.

She looked at him tiredly. "Very funny. And what's that over there?" She pointed to the city that was completely wrapped up in thorns.

"Red Grave City. Sucks to be there right now, but that ain't any of your concern. Not now, anyway."

"I can't see the town where Dante's shop is." Lucy muttered, "Or the fishing village where Vergil and I stayed."

"That old joint? V says it's long gone."

"V?"

"Yeah, the guy who loves you to bits."

Lucy shifted in her spot. She felt uncomfortable. "Um...why?" She asked quietly, "...He said he wants to do everything he can to restore me..._Who is he?_"

Griffon peered at her curiously in response and decided to settle on her shoulder. He was quite a large bird so she had to crane her head to one side slightly to allow him to fully rest on her whilst the sharp tips of his claws grazed her skin. "You really don't know?" He asked as he tilted his head at her, and she glanced to the side awkwardly. Griffon opened his beak again. He had said something, but she didn't hear - from the corner of her eye, she spotted something. Something in the woods...peering at them. It was a shadow. It flitted away once it'd been spotted but she knew what she saw.

"And after V found the convent, he - "

"Did you see that?" She said quickly.

"See what?"

She was looking towards the direction of the woods, visibly shaken. "...There was something there in the trees."

"Such as?"

"I...I don't know."

"How can you - " Griffon paused, noticing that she had suddenly gone still - she had a blank expression on her face, the emptiness returning to her eyes. He said with a sigh, "And she's gone again."

...

V found Griffon and Lucy at the hill; Griffon was perched on the girl's shoulder, pecking at her head, pulling her hair and nipping at her ear. Although she was sitting and her eyes were open, she was unresponsive, her eyes glassy and blank. V approached them and seated himself in front of her, taking her hand in his and smoothing his thumb over the back of her palm. There was no response.

"V, I tried everything but she ain't snapping out of it. She needs to be awake if she's meant to be traveling with us." The bird commented. "Neither myself or Shadow can carry her for long, and you can't carry squat."

"...I'm aware."

"So, what's that brilliant mind of yours thinking of?"

"There is someone who can assist: Hag."

"Uh. _Hag_?"

"A witch doctor. She lives deep within the Deathwoods." He replied with a smirk.

Griffon said, "Do you think she appreciates people calling her a _Hag_? No? Okay, fine, but that still doesn't solve the problem of how we're gonna take her with us. Oh, and uh...before I forget...When she woke up, we talked a bit and she said she saw something." He added, "In the woods over there."

"Saw something?" V murmured, and Griffon used a wing to point towards the direction of the cluster of the thick, dark trees.

"Yeah. But she didn't tell me what it was."

V's brows furrowed in response; he followed the direction to where Griffon was gesturing to, but didn't sense anything out of the ordinary.. "...We should leave now."

...

Usually when V had difficulties walking or when he was exhausted, he would use Shadow to help him move faster or keep him mobile.

From St Orsola to the woods on the outskirts, to the meadow outside and now the interstate beside it... they were now faced with extra baggage in the form of Lucy, V had committed to carrying her along the lonely, dusty path. A few cars passed them but none of them stopped despite Griffon's attempts to persuade V to hitch-hike. Further along and the number of cars heading their way began to dwindle as they moved towards territory that led into even more remote, dark country, namely the _Deathwoods_. Their destination was the Deathwoods after all, and it would be later in the evening when they would stop and V settled Lucy on the ground a safe distance away on the side of the road.

"Uh, why have we stopped here?" Griffon asked. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

"...This is a crossroad. You know what that means." V muttered with a smile; Lucy looked up at him but maintained that blank, expressionless face. During the entire journey and she said nary a peep or respond in any way, her eyes empty and her stare vacant. He didn't think she was aware of what was going on and she was incapable of moving on her own. With Lucy out of the picture and safe, V made his way to the middle of the road and Griffon followed rather reluctantly. Indeed, they were at a junction. Luckily, no cars could be seen for miles and V used a small knife which he fished from his pockets to slice at his palm and let some fresh, red blood drip over the concrete. As the blood soaked over the tarmac, V scooped out his book and opened it.

"Hold it! I'm not prepared yet!" Griffon squawked as he glanced around warily; V began reciting an incantation regardless. Immediately, the wind changed direction, the temperature dropped and once V finished reciting, the sky grew darker than normal; he closed the book and returned it to the innards of his jacket, waiting. "Ohhh shit, V, why did you have to do this, huh?"

"You knew this was coming."

"You didn't tell me about this part! You only told me about Hag!"

"Consider this a minor errand."

"Oh for fuck's sake! Fine, let's just get this done and dusted!"

"Uh..." A rather timid voice piped up behind them, and Griffon spun round in the air to see a young man who had appeared from nowhere - he was standing behind them with hands in the pockets of his long, sandy duster whilst V merely threw a slow glance over his shoulder. The young man had messy blond hair, thick-rimmed glasses, his feet shoved into untied and grubby-looking red converses. "...And... who are you guys?"

"Good evening," V began; turning round fully, he used both hands to rest on the top of his cane, "You must be the crossroads demon. Do you remember me?"

The young man paused slightly, then stuck his pinky into his ear. "Yeahhhhhhhno...what do you want? Why have you summoned me?" He drawled tiredly, only to raise a brow upon closer inspection of V's face. "Wait a minute, you're - " Glancing to the left, it was then he saw Lucy who was staring at their direction blankly. "Huh...Uh, what? Why is she here? Who are you, and what have you done?" He sounded terribly confused at the entire situation.

"Indeed..." V murmured, running his finger down one side of the cane, tracing the pattern before he threw his glance to the demon. "...What have I done?"

"Impossible, she's not supposed to be here - she's meant to be dead," said the blond. Brows furrowing, his previous casual, laidback demeanor vanished rather hurriedly as his eyes darkened. He exclaimed, "What's been done is done and cannot be undone!"

"I believe otherwise." Using the cane, V pointed at him. "Many years ago...Vergil came to you and exchanged twenty years of his life for hers, including a weapon called the _Kusanagi_. Approximately six months later...Lucy came to you and exchanged Vergil's memories of her and her life in return for his...I've summoned you here because I want you to return the twenty years and the rest of Vergil's missing memories. As you can see, Lucy has been brought back to life without your assistance."

There was a brief silence between the group until -

"And what will you exchange in return?" The crossroads demon growled.

"Nothing. No exchanges will be made today." V replied, "...You will merely comply."

The demon stared at him incredulously. "...Are you threatening me? _**ME?** _I'm a crossroads demon... I'm as old as time itself!" He exclaimed, before he scrubbed a palm over his face in irritation and when he released, they saw that he'd pulled his face down and one half was now hanging over his chest, his features horrifically stretched.

"Um..." Griffon made a noise in response to the disturbing sight whilst V watched on with mild interest. "V...It's not too late to apologize and go along our merry way, y'know, like this never happened...like we never pissed off a ten thousand-something year old demon."

"We can get twenty years back." was V's reply.

"What about Lucy? What if she dies? Did you think about that?"

Before V could reply, the demon said, "...I really hate fighting, and I hate the thought of having to crush you like a bug, but I've just discovered _I really don't like you _and you've make a mistake summoning me_._"

Shadow promptly appeared at V's side, watching as the blond man began to abandon his guise, flesh and skin tearing to reveal a bulkier body underneath...chunks of hair fell out, teeth dropped out of his gums and clattered onto the floor, including a pair of eyeballs; the back of his head began to elongate and his skin tore apart to reveal a monstrous, foul-green hide and the demon's face - it was not just _one_ \- as the demon continued to reveal itself, the body continued to grow and the face was just one of many other human faces dotting its body along with various eyeballs of all sizes, and soon V was facing a very hideous, grotesque creature that towered over them at least ten feet or so with several giant, heavy limbs that stretched out of its body in tendrils, finishing in claws. The faces on its bodies emitted anguished moans, the creature completely indiscernible to any other demon they've fought before.

"I see. So this is your true form." V merely smirked, opening his book in hand whilst Shadow and Griffon hastily moved in front of him protectively. "_Slice him_."

"You owe me big time for this!" Griffon yelled as he flew towards the demon whilst throwing multiple bright bursts of blue electricity at it; Shadow joined, attacking the demon by shapeshifting between spikes and buzzsaw form. V controlled the momentum, reading from his book, increasing their power.

Griffon and Shadow were strong, but would they be enough to destroy this demon? V continued watching over his familiars, ensuring they stayed out of reach from attacks as the demon grappled and lunged at them. Griffon's electricity was not useful as much as he thought because the demon seemed unfazed by the electricity and the thunder strikes, the electricity bouncing off its skin like a cork to a brick wall. Shadow seemed to fare better, being able to continuously tear into the flesh body.

"Gouge him." V commanded, and Shadow hissed and rushed forwards, tearing off one limb before lunging again and slashing at its centre.

The demon shrieked - a wound had appeared on its body. The crossroads demon snarled and tried to bat them away; attempting to snatch Griffon in its claws, the bird evaded and spun out of the way and V moved close to it and using his cane, a few projectiles surrounded the demon and on V's command, stabbed deep within its body. To his surprise however, the demon appeared intact and did not disintegrate. Griffon quickly pulled him away, appearing by V's side in just in time - the demon slammed his claws into the ground instead - the earth cracked underneath them from the brute force and started to splinter. As V and Lucy were promptly thrown off their feet, the ground beneath them trembled and began to break apart. Soon, Lucy found herself on her lonesome far from V and the others. She made a weak noise, glancing at their direction.

Sensing her distress, V was about to make his way towards her however the crossroads demon reappeared with frightening agility considering its deformed body and in a split second, Griffon pulled him to safety, talons gripping tightly on his arm and dragging him to the right.

"V, look!" Griffon shouted, and it was then V saw the faint gleam of an object that was wedged deep in its body, only visible due to the wound they inflicted on it. "Get it, V! It's the source of its power!"

Lucy needed his attention first. "Lucy," He called, "Stay there. I'll come get you."

"_I think not_." The crossroads demon snarled, "_The girl is mine!_"

The demon dived for her; V was quick - he immediately teleported to Lucy in a flash of blue light and she blink wide-eyed as V appeared in front of her before the demon, taking the brunt of the demon's incoming assault. At the same time, he reached into its body from the close proximity and pulled out the gleaming object that was inside the demon's body.

"Oh, shit!" Griffon yelled as V winced; he'd thrown himself over Lucy without a second thought. Although her eyes were open and he thought she'd be unresponsive, she was looking at him in shock as the demon's talon connected with him and slammed into his side; he tumbled to the ground, grunting. "Hey! Hey, you! That thing over there!" The bird tried to grab her attention, and she glanced away from the fallen V and to her left to see a bloodstained hourglass lying on the ground close to her. "Destroy it!"

"_NO!_" yelled the crossroad demon as she looked at V and Griffon and to the demon and suddenly, the hideous monster was gone and a meek-looking, blond man was before her. "Lucy, it's me, Tim! Don't you remember me? I helped you. Remember?"

She stared up at him, blinking confusedly.

"Don't listen to him!" Griffon shouted as he flew over to V's side to inspect him, along with Shadow.

Tim continued, a little frantically, "You remember, don't you? Give that to me, Lucy... I need it. It's mine..._give it to me_." He said, holding his hand out and she glanced at the hourlgass in her grip. It was small, filled with red sand inside and it was very light but something seemed off...as though it was _evil_ and she was about to -

"_Lucy_."

She looked up again. This time, Tim had vanished and in his spot was another man who stood before her, holding his hand out. He had snowy-white hair, a stoic expression and he was clad completely in blue. Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "..._Vergil_...?" She croaked out.

"Lucy. Give me that." He said sternly.

"Vergil!" She cried in relief as a smile wormed its way on her face. She couldn't believe it. Completely overwhelmed with happiness, the corner of her eyes began to prickle with tears at the mere sight of him. He was... _beautiful._...so handsome. His very presence was enough to render her legs into jelly. He hadn't changed at all. It had been a long time...perhaps too long. She loved him so much. He was so special to her, he was her everything... she wanted to be with him forever, to be by his side. She didn't want them to ever be split apart ever again. She had wanted to see him more than anything. Reaching for him with the hourglass in hand, she couldn't tear her eyes away from him, she wanted to jump into his embrace, but then...

Her smile dropped.

_Wait._

_That day..._

_The deal was that he was to forget me._

_This isn't...real._

Sensing her hesitation, the being before her roared in fury and threw his fist back and it shifted into a horrendous claw that was about to slam into her -

Without a second to spare, Lucy promptly rammed the hourglass hard against the ground and the glass shattered in an instant, the sand spilling out onto the ground.

"NOOOOOOOO!" The crossroad demon screamed, and the disguise withered away abruptly. Lucy stared as the being before her clutched and grappled at the air; the wound on its body, where a gaping hole could be seen, was filling up with a bright light. Clawing himself frantically, he roared and screeched until the light grew stronger and stronger and Lucy shielded her eyes with her arm when his body promptly exploded and when the light died down and it went still, she lowered her arm.

The hourglass disappeared, disintegrating into dust. Lucy glanced around herself despondently. There was nothing...just the dark and empty sky...the road...and V, Shadow and Griffon, who were watching her silently from the side. The ground began to repair, as though the battle did not happen. V got up and Griffon hastily perched himself on his arm as he headed towards her direction. When he stopped beside her, she turned to him and Griffon hopped off, watching the interaction between the two. V took her by the arm, lifting her up to stand.

"...Let's go." She said quietly, and together, they continued walking down the lonely road.

* * *

**Notes:**

1\. I actually really heavily disliked this chapter...haha lots of strong words used there. To new readers: I suck at action by the way... I have about 10 versions that were being overwritten, rewritten, edited, cut and pasted, mixed and matched etc etc. And I still hate it lol. Sorry everyone, this is one of the chapters that really have me at a loss no matter what I do.

2\. Tim is a passive demon. He's represented by eyeballs and a clock, but I chose demonic hourglass instead as his true form. Since he's as old as time itself, I doubt he's really dead. His demon form is inspired by the Noh mask monster from Inuyasha and The Thing.

3\. Today's chapter intro is from "All Along the Watchtower" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Hope you enjoyed anyway!


	4. With Love, From Hell

**WITH LOVE, FROM HELL**

_"Which is the true nightmare, the horrific dream that you have in your sleep, or the dissatisfied reality that awaits you when you awake?" _

...

...

...

V woke up to the sound of Lucy's screams a distance away. Sitting upright, he grabbed his cane and stood. "Lucy?"

Griffon hastily appeared to his left respectively in a sprinkle of black dust, high on alert. "What's going on now?! Demons?! Are we sure we wanna fight 'em? Where they at, huh?" Griffon exclaimed, eyes darting side to side. V summoned Shadow and in seconds, he had reached the source of the noise. He could hear Griffon grunting sourly as he trailed after V.

It did not take long to find her at all - up ahead and Lucy was squatting down on the road, hands clamped over her ears as she wailed in terror.

"Lucy." V bit out as he made his way to her side. She was trembling fiercely and when he reached for her, placing his hand on her shoulder; she backed away from him immediately and he could see she was bleeding profusely from three long gashes on her arm and her face was white with fear. She was panting heavily as she kept her head down, her hair strewn messily over her eyes. He attempted to reassure her once more. "Lucy, I'm here."

There was a brief silence until she finally, and slowly, turned her head towards his direction. Although she appeared normal, she merely blinked slowly and there didn't seem to be much life in her eyes. As though one was wandering through a thick fog, her eyes passed through him completely. It was however, a vast improvement compared to her condition last night.

"You're safe." He murmured and her dull, wandering eyes moved away from him and settled on the ground before her. She seemed to have relaxed a little, shoulders not so tense and her fingers slowly began to creep away from her ears; as she quivered, she moved to clutch her knees to her chest. Her erratic breathing gradually slowed. Reaching for her again, he carefully brushed away a strand of hair that was covering her eyes and when she seemed to have calmed down entirely, he took her hand in his and drew her arm out, inspecting the torn flesh. She did not react - did not make any move to retreat or protest in any way - and instead, she turned ever-so-slightly and stared at him. His brows furrowed when she swallowed down a lump in her throat, clearly distressed. Griffon landed beside them, inching over using his talons and he cocked his head to the side for a closer look at her wounds.

"Awww man, this ain't good...this ain't good at all." Griffon muttered as he got an eyeful of her ripped skin. "What do you think did that, V? Some kind of beastie? I can take 'em on, V, just lemme at 'im."

V's brows knitted tightly in displeasure before he scooped his cane up in hand and began to scour the area. "...No, this was not some beast." He murmured, "There was something here...but it's gone now. It will come back." He lifted her off the ground and into his arms.

With that, Griffon emitted a loud sigh. "This is really the mutt's nuts, you know that?"

...

**Later.**

It was a fine, hot day.

Rupert the trucker was driving down the empty, lonely highway, belting out hard rock tunes for the world to hear as he steered with one huge hand on the wheel, the other resting against the window which was rolled three quarters down. He was on his way to drop off some supplies, his truck being a sweet sixteen wheel drive. Normally, he only saw the usual roadkill and a few wild dogs on the path, but today he spotted a strange bird lingering close to a young man sitting on the sidewalk with a girl in his lap, tending to her. Believing they needed assistance, he immediately pulled on the gearstick, coming to a gradual slow stop beside them.

"Heya." He rolled his window down completely, poking his head out where he was greeted with the humid air. "Need a ride?"

The young man had been wrapping a bandage around the girl's knee (which was rather bloody, she must have had a nasty fall) and he turned to him and smiled; he didn't look like he was from around these parts. Maybe he was a foreigner. And although the numerous, spiraling tattoos covering his body were eye-catching, Rupert found this strange man fragile and sickly in appearance. He found it strange that he was wearing black despite the weather being roughly thirty-something degrees. Black were heat absorbing colors, so definetely no good here. What was even stranger was the silver cane that was slotted in between a belt loop. It was then Rupert glanced over to the girl - she was wearing black too, some kind of flimsy t-shirt dress - and she had no shoes, one arm was also bandaged and her pale feet and calves covered in grass and dried muck. Perhaps they'd been robbed? She seemed to be unconscious, her eyes closed, face buried snugly in the crook of the young man's neck.

"Are you guys okay?" Rupert asked, lit cigarette clenched between his teeth. "I can take y'all to the nearest hospital."

"...That won't be necessary." The young man replied. He was incredibly soft-spoken so Rupert strained to hear him properly. The man added, "Are you familiar with the _Forêt de Haguenau_?"

"Forêt de Haguenau?" Rupert struggled to pronounce it properly as he removed his cap and scratched at his bald head and bushy beard all over. "Uh...you mean the '_Deathwoods_', right? Wells yeah, I'll be passin' by... I can give you a ride."

"I have no means of remuneration." The man said, still smiling.

Rupert glanced around; they were on the highway, where nary a soul could be seen and the nearest town was at least a day's trip away if made by foot. "S'okay, I ain't gonna charge ya." Pressing on a button on the dashboard, the passenger door automatically opened for them and he added, "Come on in. Birdie too - my truck's pet friendly."

"Thank you."

As Rupert unbuckled his seatbelt, the bird suddenly screeched out, "What are you doin'?! You can't be serious - I mean... _squuuuawk! Who's a Pretty Polly!?_"

And Rupert stared at the bird, stunned. "That's a pretty well-trained birdie you got there, Mr...?"

"You may call me V."

"Alrighty then. Nice ta meet ya, Mr V. I'm Rupert Savery." Rupert proceeded to open his door and hopped out, thick boots hitting the dusty ground. He was a massive, towering man, at least six foot three. He towered over V entirely. "Here, let me help you." He reached over and plucked the unconscious girl out of V's embrace and into his bulky, hairy arms where he placed her into the awaiting passenger seat. The bird folded its wings and hopped onto V's shoulder as V climbed inside, seating himself beside her. There was not a lot of space so whilst the bird occupied one half of the seat, V hoisted the girl into his lap where finally, she moved and snuggled against him.

"Hm...?" V threw his glance to her but she didn't wake up; he closed his hand around her shoulder, holding her tightly.

_Must be girlfriend and boyfriend_, Rupert thought to himself as he watched their interaction before he closed the door behind them and slid back into his seat, pulling the seatbelt tight over his chest and buckling it in. Switching off the radio, Rupert started the truck and steered onto the road. "Why're y'all going to the woods anyway? There's nothing there. I heard it used to be some lovely town inspired by French renaissance...but the forest around it? Hooo boy, that's a totally different story. The locals started calling it the _Forest of Death_, or even simpler, the _Deathwoods_. Heard many strange stories about that place. Folks goin' missing. Folks seein' strange lights in the sky at night and whatnot, folks hearin' strange noises. It must be haunted or somethin'."

"I'm looking for someone."

"I see." Rupert glanced at the bird from the mirror. "Say, didn't realize them budgerigars could grow so large either."

The bird made a threatening noise. "_Budgerigar?!_" It roared, "I'll show you _FUCKING BUDGERIGAR!_"

"Griffon..."

"Haaah, you sure are a well-trained budgie." Rupert added, "Well, y'all are welcome to rest up, _Forêt de Haguenau's_ a few hours away."

Glancing at the mirror, he saw the bird glaring at him (...must be his tired eyes playing tricks on him) before closing its great golden eyes whilst V opened a book and began reading aloud. The girl's brows knitted tightly for a split second before her expression cleared, becoming at ease...and slowly, her eyes opened. V noticed immediately and swerved his glance to her but she wasn't responsive. She remained unmoving in his lap. He smiled at her fondly in return.

As the journey progressed, V continued reading to her.

...

It was getting late.

The sky was growing dark and Rupert stopped at _Roy's Motel_ which had a gas station at the front.

"Sorry folks, nature calls! Y'all can sit tight or hop out for some fresh air and to stretch your legs 'cos I'm gonna be a while! And when I'm done, I'm also gonna buy a few beers and maybe fill 'er up. Be back real soon." Rupert said jovially, opening the door and slipping out with a bundled up magazine in his thick, hairy hand. V watched the trucker whistle cheerfully as he headed towards the direction of the general store. V promptly opened the passenger door, allowing Griffon to fly out and stretch his wings to the full wingspan.

"Finally!" He exclaimed, "Hey, V, maybe we should also - " He paused when he saw V stepping out first before turning round to reach for Lucy; he slipped his hands around her waist and helped lift her out of the truck and settle her onto her feet beside him whilst she clutched onto him, looking around cautiously. Griffon said, "She's awake?"

"Yes." V responded with a smile as Griffon flew over to Lucy's side and inspected her closely. She seemed to be in much better shape, definitely more responsive and aware. However, now she was merely standing on the spot whilst blinking sluggishly.

"Well, I think she's totally gone off the deep end. Who knows if she'll go completely cuckoo on us again?" Griffon remarked. Uninterested, he flew off and spotted an old woman sitting on a rocking chair at the front porch of the store - hanging off the ceiling was a bird feeder that was already being used by three little desert sparrows and Griffon's eyes gleamed mischievously. "Ohhohoho...free food..." He made a beeline for it and yelled, "Move over, losers!" The birds that had been perusing it flew off in a split second as soon as his gargantuan shadow covered them and the old lady let out a shriek of surprise, hobbling out of her chair and making her way inside the store; Griffon landed on the feeder with his sharp talons, causing it to swing violently from his weight, his talons punching holes into the little plastic cover; as little pieces of seeds popped into his mouth, he spat them out. "What the hell! What the fuck is this garbage!? This is a fucking scam!"

V merely watched as Griffon continued roaring obscenities at nothing or no-one in particular and saw that Lucy had left his side, wandering towards the store. She stopped at the stairs, staring at the steps leading up to the door and when V approached, she turned to him. Gently taking her by the arm, he helped her up and her bare feet stepped lightly over the wood. He helped her make her way to an empty bench and seated her down where she proceeded to preoccupy herself in staring at the highway, staring at passing cars.

"Lucy?" V said, but she didn't respond as he sat down beside her, watching her. Her gaze was pinned on the horizon solely. Since they started the journey, she hadn't spoken a word. He followed her gaze and they both watched a few cars pass by. Two trucks passed, then three, followed by a tumbleweed. A motorbike sped past, blaring noisily. She threw her glance to her lap next so he reached for his book, opened it and found one poem which he hoped she would like. She heard him rifling through the pages and turned to him. Sensing her movement, he looked up to see that she was looking at him rather inquisitively. He started to read. "_O Rose thou art sick. The invisible worm, that flies in the night, in the howling storm_."

Before he moved onto the second verse, he looked up again to see her reaction; he waited a few moments until she slowly leaned over and looked at the page where she saw a hand drawn picture of a rose. She stared at it for a few pressing moments, eyes blinking lethargically before she glanced up at him once more; it appeared she was waiting for him to continue.

Mild relief washed over him. His hunch was correct after all - the first time he read to her and she woke up, and now this - it pleased him greatly to discover that his reading was eliciting some form of response. Therefore, he re-immersed himself into the book and continued. "_Has found out thy bed. Of crimson joy: and his dark secret love. Does thy life destroy_."

When he finished, he looked up again and their eyes met; she had been staring at him the entire time.

Finally, her mouth moved.

"V?" She said quietly.

"Yes, Lucy?"

"Something's following me."

...

When Rupert returned, the sky seemed to have grown even darker than a few minutes ago and he saw V seated on the bench whilst the girl stood closeby, staring at a little lamp on the fence that was surrounded by little moths dancing around her. Meanwhile, the bird was pecking at something long, red and slimy on the ground. Upon closer inspection it was the carcass of a snake. The bird was tearing into it messily and wolfing down noisily, tearing off its skin with pulpy entrails hanging over its beak. He shivered slightly as the bird glowered at his direction and he stopped before the young man.

"Y'all wanna hop back in?" He asked.

"I'm afraid this is where we part ways." V said with a smile whilst the girl continued staring vacantly into the light, "...We will stay here for the rest of the night."

"I thought y'all had no money?"

V didn't even hesitate. "I appreciate your concern...but we will be fine."

"Alright then. Sorry, I couldn't help you folks anymore. It was nice to meet you, Mr V." Rupert grabbed his thin hand and shook him fiercely before quickly letting go. "Y'all look after each other now."

V watched Rupert return to his truck, wave goodbye at them and slowly steer out of the gas stop and back onto the road. Griffon tilted his head to the side as he gulped down a piece of shredded snake. "Y'know, that guy was beginning to grow on me."

"Is that true." V said; it didn't sound like a question at all.

"Yeah!" The bird exclaimed, before he turned to where Lucy should be. "V, she's gone again! Geez, you take your eyes off her for one second and this happens! What a pain in the ass!"

Turning to her spot, Griffon was right - Lucy had vanished from the porch - but he spotted her at the door of the general store, surrounded by two men. They seemed to be hassling her - her back was pressed rigidly against the wall and she was clearly uncomfortable and trying to move away from them but they were preventing her from doing so, catching her each time she tried to escape. In a matter of moments he had stalked over; his knuckles going white as he gripped his cane tightly. When one of them grabbed her wrist, V's brows furrowed darkly at the sight and anger welled up inside him.

"Uh-oh. Hey, uh...V? You okay? ...V?" Griffon called after him; he watched as V stopped shortly behind the group. Shaking his head, Griffon abandoned his meal to head over to help his master.

"Excuse me." V said, before he slammed the edge of his cane into the back of one of the man's knees. The man howled in pain, his leg going under and he dropped to the floor in agony whilst his friend went wide-eyed and turned round.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!" The other screamed; raising his fist, he was about to aim a blow at V's face until a jolt of electricity rammed into him and Lucy ducked to safety as he went flying. She hurriedly returned to V's side, watching as V and Griffon made short work of them and the two men were lying uselessly on the ground. One was still conscious, opening his eyes weakly and lifting a trembling hand towards Lucy's direction.

V used his cane and coldly knocked his hand away. "_Do not touch her_." V warned, his voice low. The man flopped over the ground, out cold. Turning to Lucy, he said gently, "Are you alright?"

She nodded.

Griffon hopped over and used his beak to fish something out of the man's shirt pocket. A brown wallet. "Hehehe...look, V... _Money_..." He cooed, and V held out his hand; Griffon placed the thick wallet into his palm and then proceeded to loot the other victim for cash.

"This will do nicely." V murmured. They still needed a place to stay for the night.

In response, Griffon snickered with glee. "Now you're talkin'."

...

The room V got for them was a modest one, with a double bed, TV, ensuite and the normal amenities. Average to say the least, but the money from the two goons only allowed one night's worth. V had recalled Griffon earlier so now it was only himself and Lucy; the moment she laid on the bed though, she had succumbed to sleep in seconds. However, Lucy woke up sooner than anticipated because the room had dropped a few degrees in temperature, causing her to shiver and to stir. Now awake, Lucy grumbled and groaned and opened her eyes. Glancing to her left, V sat on the chair, book in his clutches. He must have been reading for a while until he finally let sleep take over. She watched him curiously; Vergil used to sit on the chair too, to guard her. Her expression dampened when she recalled those fond memories. However, they abruptly came to a stop when the TV in front of the bed switched on, white static buzzing on the screen.

She jerked in fright, whipping her head to the TV. The room felt even more chillier and she heard a howl of wind emitting from the door.

Reaching for the remote, Lucy switched it off only to see a shadow passing the window from the corner of her eye; the window was open - the lace curtain billowing in the breeze - and Lucy put the remote down, slid off the bed to close it, hand on the lever. She was about to pull it but stopped in mid-action when she saw something in the distance approaching them: a tall, dark humanoid shape with glowing red eyes and long spindly arms, its elongated fingers ending in sharp claws.

Lucy's eyes widened and she quickly backed away from the window, bumping into someone - glancing up, she saw it was none other than V who was now awake. "...V?" She said.

He gestured for her to return to the bed. "Stay here, Lucy." He said, before he left the room to apprehend the demon, closing the door shut behind him. Griffon materialized beside him in a burst of black, the tattoos on V's body growing lighter.

He glanced at V, then to the demon. "Uh...okay, that's not a common sight at all. What the hell is that, V?"

"_That..._ is a Reaper." V said, pointing his cane at it, "They are enforcers who will stop at nothing to hunt down missing souls."

"Aww, man...It's 'cos of her, isn't it?" Griffon replied, and V merely smiled and held up his arm, allowing Griffon to perch. "Okay, okay, wise guy. Listen up, I'm only gonna help you with this one 'cos I know if we kill this whatchama-call-it then it's over, and then you and I can both sleep in peace, capisce?"

"Of course..." V replied, and Griffon flew off his arm, honing in on the demon. Lifting his cane, V held it at the demon's direction and Shadow came bursting out with a feral growl. "_Destroy it_."

Emitting a high-pitched screech, the Reaper rushed towards them with unearthly speed, shrieking and screaming the entire time and with a giant swipe of its claw - it almost tore right into Griffon if he hadn't ducked in time. "YEEEOOOW! Careful, that's sharp!" Griffon yelled as a few feathers were lobbed off. "You son of a bitch! Eat this!" Throwing electricity at it, Griffon proceeded to attack the demon aggressively whilst Shadow joined the fray, assaulting the creature again and again, occasionally shapeshifting between a buzzsaw to spikes.

Meanwhile, V maintained a safe distance, watching his familiars battle. "_Eradicate_." V commanded smoothly, book in hand.

The reaper screamed, flinging its massive claws but Shadow was quicker, leaping to one side and then to the next before pouncing on it in mid-air; Shadow sliced neatly into the demon after transforming its body into numerous spikes and sent it hurtling further into the air but the demon recovered fast and dove for the panther, knocking it off its feet.

Raising a brow, V murmured, "I think it's time to end this..." Raising his arm, he closed his eyes, snapping his fingers and a sharp click resonated through the atmosphere. A spray of black left his hair, leaving nothing but white silky tresses and the ground beneath them trembled violently.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy." Griffon could be heard exclaiming in anticipation as he sent a rapid burst of electricity at it before quickly diving to the side to evade an attack.

The demon was quickly repelled when a massive fireball came hurtling out from the sky and smashed into its body. The fireball soon unraveled to reveal a massive golem who began firing a deadly purple laser at the demon from the glowing singular orb in the middle of its head; standing at its full height, it towered over it completely. The demon hissed, just as Nightmare brought its fists slamming down on its body, grinding it into the ground. Complete overkill. The demon screamed weakly but Nightmare smashed its fist into it once more. It was too weak to retaliate. With cane in hand, V closed in on it fast, about to deliver the finishing blow.

"V, wait!" Griffon yelled; in an instant, he was at V's side, latching onto his arm and dragging him away. With its dying breath, the demon tried one more attack - and successfully slashed at V's side with its claw despite Griffon's best attempts to take him to safety.

V grunted as Griffon dropped him.

Nightmare pummeled the demon back into the ground; for good measure, it kept it pinned underneath its claw and V dispatched it with a stab of his cane. "_Die_." V said, and it screamed, twitching and screeching aggressively before it exploded violently into blood. Griffon flew as quickly as he could to shield him - blood spraying all over the poor bird who let out an angered squawk. The threat gone, Nightmare vanished and V's hair turned to the usual pitch black. Panting, V brushed a hand through his hair as he tried to regain his breath.

"Yuck! Fucking disgusting!" Griffon could be heard yelling, flapping his wings angrily and little drops of blood flew off his feathers and over the ground. The field went silent until V dropped to his knees, gasping weakly. His fingers were gripping the cane tightly for support. "V!" Griffon exclaimed, noticing the cut on his side. "Goddamnit, you got hurt!"

"...I'm fine." He grunted out.

"No, you ain't, pretty boy!" Griffon landed on the ground and stuck his head underneath V's arm, trying to lift him off the ground but to no avail.

"V." said a quiet voice, and everyone glanced over to see Lucy making her way towards them. Her eyes widened when she saw V's side trickling with fresh blood and she stopped in front of him, dropping to her knees over the grass as she inspected his wound. "You're hurt."

"Lucy." He greeted her with a smile, "...That demon will not harm you any longer."

She slid her gaze from his wound to him before she silently proceeded to loop his arm around her shoulder and lifted him up to stand, heading towards the direction of the motel.

* * *

**Notes:**

1\. Thank you again for the reviews and those who added this to their favs/alerts. I do like this chapter a lot more compared to my previous one :) In DMC Before the Nightmare, V and Griffon beat someone up for money to pay for Dante's services so I followed the same here

2\. Griffon is now my favorite character lol.

3\. The creature stalking Lucy was a Reaper, which V defeated


	5. First Poetry, Now Flowers

**FIRST POETRY, NOW FLOWERS**

_"There once was a kindly farmer who found a viper freezing on the ground in the snow. _

_"Please help me," the poor creature said, "for I am too cold to live." _

_The farmer took the viper and put it inside of his shirt, and the viper began to warm itself and come alive again. But upon coming alive, it bit the farmer most wretchedly, and as the farmer died, he asked the viper, "but why? Why when I was so trusting of you?"_

_"Because I am a viper," the snake replied. "And one cannot expect kindness from evil." _

...

...

...

Griffon was watching the two with keen interest. They'd carried V back inside their motel room and Lucy had V propped up on the bed, lying against the headrest. She definitely appeared more aware compared to earlier and she was now mumbling and muttering to herself. "She's gone cuckoo again." Griffon hissed to V, as she disappeared into the bathroom and Griffon was left to watch over V. They heard the taps running and Lucy fumbling around before she re-emerged from the bathroom with a damp white towel in hand. She sat down by his side on the chair and stopped, staring at the hot towel.

"Nnmm..." She could be heard mumbling, then she proceeded to reach over and lift up one side of his jacket. The material seemed to have magically mended itself despite being slashed by the demon. Handy, but Lucy appeared confused and she let go of it. She looked unsure so V lifted it up himself to reveal the wound. It was merely a cut on the side of his chest but it looked pretty nasty. Luckily, it didn't look deep at all, just a minor graze. Griffon had pulled him to safety quick enough. With towel in hand, she gently applied it over his ripped flesh and V hissed slightly, brows furrowing.

"Oh...sorry..." She uttered, which was the most coherent word she'd said out of her ramblings so far, before she briefly resumed in cleaning up the wound, occasionally throwing concerned glances at V, who was gazing at her the entire time. When the cloth turned red, she paused, bit her lip. "I should...hold on..."

She rose from her chair and sauntered to the bathroom, washing the cloth in the tub and returning to the lounge once again. V had now closed his eyes and she glanced at Griffon who had decided to leave his previous perch (the cupboard, which now had fine scratch marks on it) and he landed on the bed, folding his wings as he strutted over, his talons ripping into the sheets.

"This is really five star treatment, eh?" He said, peering at V from all possible angles. "Geez, you look like shit."

Lucy returned to the chair, hot cloth in hand which she started to use to dab at V's chest again but she looked at the bird and he looked at her, they both exchanged brief glances before the bird glanced at V and she too, also re-focused on V, who needed the utmost attention at this particular moment. She continued in her duty in cleaning him up as Griffon was really the least of her priorities. And after she finished cleaning the wound, she grabbed the first-aid kit which she (somehow) managed to buy from the general store using V's money and fished out some ointment and cotton swabs which she proceeded to apply over the wound. Griffon watched her curiously and once she was finished, she fixed a gauze pad over it, then she grabbed some bandages and pulled out a long, thin strip and using the tiny cheap-looking scissors that came with the kit, she cut it and started dressing the wound meticulously. V emitted a light groan in response as Lucy tied the bandage around his chest. He remained silent, and she believed he was resting now.

"Pretty neat job, sister. I feel like you're used to this kind of stuff." Griffon muttered, once she'd finished. Turning to Griffon, she smiled widely, rather pleased with herself. She sat in the chair, hands on her knees and then she started to reach over to the bird and Griffon snapped his beak at her approaching fingers at once. "Whoa, hey, hey, hey! Whaddya think you're doing?! What are you - " He stopped when she patted him on the horns and he went still; when she retreated her hand, he shook himself, feathers ruffling as she started tucking away the first aid kit.

"Little chickee." She said, still smiling.

He snorted. "Little chickee, my ass."

...

The next morning, Lucy woke up with cricks in her neck and back. She'd slept on the chair for the rest of the night. Daylight was seeping through the cracks of the blinds, bathing the cheap motel room in a warm glow. V was still asleep whilst the bird and panther were nowhere to be seen. She stretched gently and then made her way over to the sleeping man. Once she stopped by his side, she tilted her head for a closer look. He had a pale complexion and his hair was dark. He was a handsome young man, and she reached over and poked his cheek using one finger.

He didn't respond.

She didn't recognize him but it seemed he knew her somehow. Maybe she did know him from somewhere in the past, but she had ultimately forgotten. Perhaps someone from her childhood? Maybe a distant relative from her mother or father's side? A relative she never knew about? Nevertheless, he was the only person who demonstrated great care for her right now which she was grateful for, and he had done nothing but keep her safe.

Lucy pulled the duvet a little higher to his chin after her brief scrutiny and left his side and moved to the mirror, glancing at her reflection before she patted her cheeks. Her gaze was blank and unfocused, her eyes sunken in, her face dull. Most of the time, she earnestly felt she was dreaming...lightweight and free... as though she wasn't alive after all. She could see, she could hear, she could smell, she could taste... but was she actually_ here_? Was this actually real? She then looked at the rest of her body, at the flimsy black t-shirt dress she was wearing which was becoming grubby by the passing hour. It was not her style…a bit on the gothic, emo side, with the black trimming and black lace and all.

Leaving the room, Lucy had to shield her eyes as the bright sunlight assaulted her vision and as she slowly let her eyes adjust, she spotted a clothing donation bank beside the vending machine along with a few recycling bins. Maybe she could find something in there…. It wasn't a very good idea, having to resort to such means…but she didn't know what else to do since they appeared so far away from civilization right now and she wanted to change her clothes. Lucy snuck over and after carefully checking to see that the coast was clear, she lifted the lid and stuffed her hand inside and grabbed a bundle of clothes out. Placing the pile on the ground, she pulled out some items but they were too old, too dirty and didn't seem to fit her properly… but it was better than nothing so she pulled out an old shirt and slacks. Once she had the clothes in hand, she looked up to see a middle-aged man exiting the store who began sweeping the porch whilst an old lady sitting on a rocking chair near him was staring at her, mouth agape in shock. Lucy gave her an awkward smile as she made her way back to the room. In front of the door was a folded newspaper which she hadn't noticed before so she picked it up, scanning the headlines.

Glancing at the date, it indicated that more than twenty years had passed since.

Her eyes widened.

Her head started to throb, her vision blurring. Becoming short of breath, her legs gave way and Lucy blacked out.

….

There was a knock on the door and V stirred after a few seconds. The knocking grew louder and he opened his eyes, slid off the bed. His side hurt somewhat, but Lucy was not in the room. She kept wandering off… He headed over using his cane for support and opened the door where an old lady stood with Lucy at her side, although the girl was more occupied with the dream catcher that was hanging off the ceiling near the door.

"Good morning, I found your girlfriend." said the old lady with a kind smile, "…She passed out and had a nasty fall. Luckily, my son was around to help. We were going to call for an ambulance but then she opened her eyes and she called for you."

He glanced from the older lady to Lucy; she didn't look at him, completely occupied with the net of the dreamcatcher and sticking her fingers through the gaps. He thanked the lady and took Lucy's hand, guiding her into the room. She glanced away from the dreamcatcher then and stared at him whilst he moved her to stand in front of him to inspect her; he spotted the bruise on her forehead but otherwise she appeared unharmed. He also noticed her clothes had changed; she was wearing a white t-shirt, a pair of high-waist black leggings and matching white sneakers.

"I hope you don't mind. These used to belong to my granddaughter but she moved to the city. They fit your girlfriend well." The old lady muttered, before she leaned in and whispered, only for V to hear, "_We saw her ransack the clothing bin_."

"Thank you." V said; he exchanged a few minor words with the old lady before she departed and V closed the door behind them.

They spent a few moments staring at each other until Lucy averted her gaze from him to the side and hung her head low.

"...Lucy, are you alright?" He asked.

She nodded slowly, then a few seconds later, shook her head.

"What happened?"

She was holding a local newspaper in her other hand. Lifting it up, she stared at the front page, then held it up for him; V took it off her gently and scoured the front page. The headlines outlined freakish weather in the south, but nothing of particular interest. It was then Lucy pointed to the date, and he knew.

_…_

**Later.**

"C'mon, V, you're gonna tire yourself out and you're still hurt. You should just call that Rupert guy."

"...We're almost there."

"What? Really?"

"Yes."

They had left the motel a while ago to continue with their travels and this time, Lucy was walking in front of V and Griffon on the dusty, empty road. Her condition was improving considering she was able to walk on her own now; although she still seemed unaware of her surroundings, at least she was capable of listening, responding and following them obediently. Along the way, she stopped and kneeled down and he saw that she was staring at a little batch of plump pink flowers that stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the gritty path.

V walked over slowly but she didn't acknowledge his presence, her gaze pinned on the flowers. Lowering himself to a crouch beside her, he used his cane to keep him supported whilst plucking one flower off from the stem and holding it up to her. Lucy blinked, then stared at the flower for her taking and threw a quick glimpse at him. V waited, and slowly, she reached forwards and took it off him and held it daintily in her hands. When she looked up, their gazes met again and she quickly stood up and started walking with the flower in her clutches. A few moments later and she began swinging it around gently, the petals swaying in the breeze.

The journey continued.

V was watching her, a smile on his lips. He was seeing some gradual improvement, which pleased him greatly. She would look up and around, swing her arms to and fro, clasp them together behind her back, sigh and roll her head, neck and shoulders. Then she would turn to him sometimes and their gazes would meet but she didn't speak and they would keep gazing at each other for a long time and he would wait, as though hopeful that she might respond in a more engaging manner...maybe she would say his name or speak, ask a question... but instead, she would look away. Griffon caught on and hovered beside him, snickering.

"Ohoho...real smooth, lover boy. First with the poetry and now flowers!" He gushed loudly; V used the cane and moved him out of his path. "What's next? A ring and you on bended knee?"

"Lucy." V muttered, deciding to completely ignore the bird. "Stay close."

She stopped and turned to him again; V strode beside her and they strolled together at the same pace, her fingertips brushing the smooth petals. Griffon hovered over to her and she looked up and around, following the bird until he then decided to land on her head. Lucy stopped all at once with the additional weight and he was simply too large - but Griffon was looking very smug with himself as he folded his wings, his tail feathers jutting proudly in the air. He was sitting on her head as though it was his nest and _maybe_ he was a little too cozy, rubbing his bird butt over the crown of her head. V watched them silently as he walked behind them until he felt a stabbing pain in his gut, and lowering a hand into his jacket, he brushed his fingers over the bandages and lifted his hand out. There were a light smudge of fresh blood on his fingertips. It appeared his wound had reopened, but he wouldn't be able to stop now. They were so close...and there were no motels or any sort of rest stops nearby. Exhaling silently, V covered the wound.

Finally, they arrived at their destination. An old, rickety wooden sign in front said '_Fo et d Hag_' with the rest of the missing letters barely legible from weather, age and overgrown moss.

"We're here." V announced.

Griffon stared at the sight before them. "...Uh..._Forest of Death_, right?"

"Yes."

They had arrived at the entrance of what seemingly led to another dark, treacherous woodland. The Forest of Death certainly lived up to its name and from Rupert's description (which was correct to a T), everything he had told them all seemed to be true. The entrance was full of dark trees that seemed to stretch very high, encompassing the area is a misty darkness. V stepped foot inside and Lucy made a noise from the back of her throat but otherwise, started to trail after V mutely, still with Griffon sitting on her head. A blackish-blue feather was sticking out of one side of her head thanks to Griffon, but she didn't notice.

These woods were even denser than the woods surrounding St Orsola's. The path wasn't as worn, probably due to the lack of visitors who were brave enough to venture into these woods whether alone or in a group. The more they ventured inside, the more their surroundings were turning darker and darker (even though it was still broad daylight); it didn't help that the trees were black and foreboding, stretching high into the atmosphere and completely covering the sky. The branches were thin and prickly, with no leaves. The woodland also appeared to be covered in a musty, perpetual fog, the land coated in an eerie silence. Lucy stuck close to V, glancing up and around curiously.

"Griffon, watch over her." She heard V muttering under his breath. "Lucy. Don't fall behind."

Griffon reached down and looked at Lucy, who looked at the bird in return, then she promptly picked up pace.

Heading further and further into the woods, the trees got denser, the fog got thicker and it was beginning to become uncomfortable for Lucy to breathe due to the suffocating atmosphere. Occasionally, they'd hear a strange ringing noise that seemed to be emitting far away. It came in waves and at timed moments. The more they made their way through, the louder the noise was growing. A good indication that there was someone here, somewhere... They were nearing their destination, it seemed.

"What is that noise?" Griffon asked; the bird felt compelled to lower his voice a tad.

"...A bell." V replied.

Coming to a stop, up ahead and their path was blocked by a large and black, scaly rock - they had arrived at a dead end; Griffon finally left his spot and landed on the rock, talons gripping the sides as he glanced around warily. "This is pointless! We've gone the wrong way!"

"We should be almost there." V replied, and suddenly Griffon let out an alarmed squawk and flew off - the rock had shifted from its place and was beginning to tremble; a thin black line appeared in the middle and promptly split apart, revealing a nicititating membrane and a massive, bulging red eyeball with a black slit which landed on their forms. Lucy gawped as the creature started to shake itself, roots and pebbles falling off and onto the ground. The earth trembled as the creature - which turned out to be a great serpent - continued to rise from the ground and into the air, breaking through the trees and rising high in the air, staring at them with its great blood-red eyes before its forked tongue came spitting out, hissing loudly. It had a rounded snout and many golden rings and red scales dotting the length of its body.

"...A Naga..." V murmured, as he counted six strange, deformed lumps on the sides of its body near its head. Meanwhile, Lucy was staring wide-eyed at the great serpent in shock.

"First, a crossroads demon, now this. Just great!" Griffon huffed, "V, let's get outta here!"

"You must take Lucy first."

There was no time to waste; the Naga stared at them inquisitively before it proceeded to open its giant jaws and V hurriedly grabbed Lucy and leapt out of the way with Griffon. The giant cobra proceeded to lunge at them and smashed into the ground, mud and trees flying, before rearing up again and they could see that it had completely surrounded them with its body, enclosing them in a circle. Its body slithered, scales shifting and sliding around in a colorful yet hypnotic fashion and Griffon and Shadow abruptly appeared at V's side as he settled Lucy down on the ground.

"Get her out of here!" V commanded and the bird, torn, glanced between V and the girl.

"But - "

"_Go!_"

With no choice, Griffon immediately grabbed Lucy by the arm and started hoisting her into the air. She made a noise of distress, reaching for V.

V watched Griffon carry Lucy away before turning to the serpent. "..._God Appears and God is Light, to those poor Souls who dwell in Night_." He muttered under his breath; with Shadow by his side, the panther came leaping out, pouncing on the serpent's body and attacking it promptly with its tail which had shapeshifted into a large spike. The Naga, now fully preoccupied with Shadow, attempted to fend it off, lunging and snapping its jaws at the beast over and over again. With quick agility and reflexes, Shadow successfully dodged each of its attacks whilst V read from his book. Hopefully, he'd be able to buy some time for Griffon to escape with Lucy.

Hissing loudly, the Naga stabbed its fangs towards Shadow's direction again who leapt to safety; however, the snake moved quickly and tossed the poor animal into the air with its tail before catching it with its body, coiling its length around it tightly. Shadow could be heard growling weakly before V raised his arm and snapped his fingers. As a hail of meteorites rained down on the Naga, it finally let go of the beast with a pained hiss and Shadow returned by V's side. Shaking off the attack, the Naga quickly slammed its tail into Nightmare and sent him flying against a few trees which completely flattened under his weight. Despite its gargantuan size, the Naga was quick to keep up the offensive and soon it had Nightmare wrapped up in the confines of its body, tightening and squeezing around the golem as tightly as it could. In response, Nightmare unleashed a stream of purple lasers at its body.

From his knowledge - _Vergil's knowledge_ \- the Naga was one of the most powerful adversaries he had ever faced. It was a seven headed serpent that had been alive for over five hundred years... it's prowess beyond imaginable. This would only end in defeat; there was no way he would be able to kill this. He could feel his energy being drained, exhaustion beginning to take over. Another sharp pain seized him and he threw his glance to his wound - the bandage was turning a deep crimson. This was not good.

A shadow covered him; he looked up, panting - Nightmare was gone and he found his hair black - Nightmare had been recalled, it was no match for this creature - and the Naga was lunging at him again, jaws wide, about to devour him whole but then -

"_**Circe, no!**_"

From out of nowhere, Lucy sprang in front of him, throwing her arms out.

Griffon landed beside him, heaving somewhat, and V's eyes widened slightly. They had...come back for him?

The woods fell silent.

The Naga had stopped.

Lucy was staring up at the large serpent; its snout was inches from her face, the tips of its fangs oozing with venom and saliva. Lucy steeled her nerves, gulping lightly whilst V stared at her silently. "Circe...stop it." She uttered, "Let us pass. Let us see Hag."

At first, the serpent did not move but Lucy remained calm and adamant. However, a few minutes later and the serpent slowly retreated and reared to its full height before them once more. Lucy finally lowered her arms, glancing up at the serpent as it inspected her curiously. Hot breath emitted from the slits on its snout as its red eyes lingered on her tiny form before the serpent's eyes cleared up. No longer did they appear glassy, but clear. "...Lucy...?" It hissed in a deep, penetrating rumble, its voice was undoubtedly female...it caused the woods to tremble. "...Impossible."

"It's me, Circe. Are you okay?"

The snake looked rather confused now, "...But we thought you were...gone."

"It's okay, I can explain later. Where's Hag?"

"Master is - "

The ringing sound returned, forcing Circe to hiss and shake her head to and fro violently, screeching. A new voice entered the fray, young and clear: "_Circe!_"

As Circe hissed and thrashed and turned to the source - it was a young woman who had appeared on the path, holding a bronze bell in hands - Circe glared at her with much displeasure and immediately began to curl into herself, coiling up into a tight ball in an effort to blot out the noise. Lucy averted her gaze from the serpent to the newcomer. The young woman was rosy-cheeked and beautiful, with long hair the shade of red. Dressed in white, she strode towards V and Lucy with a smile, returning the bell to her sash. "I'm so sorry; Circe won't bother you any longer." She said, smiling. "Are you alright?"

V studied her carefully whilst Griffon let out a noise akin to a whistle as the bird eyed her from head to toe.

"We're fine, thank you." Lucy replied, whilst V slowly moved to stand and Lucy went to his side.

Turning to Circe, the girl rung the bell a few more times, causing the snake to coil up even tighter. Turning to V and Lucy, she added, "Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"...I'm Lucy and this is V; we're looking for Hag."

"Ah, friends of Hag! I'm Aramis, Hag's disciple." She said cheerily, "I can see you've come a long way; you must be exhausted. The hut is up ahead; I can take you there." With a graceful turn, she began to head towards the direction of the path that would lead to the apparent exit; V glanced at Lucy, who was staring intently at Circe who no longer seemed concerned with them, deciding to simply remained coiled up in a tight ball.

"Whoo boy, that Aramis is pretty hot stuff, ain't she, V?" Griffon crooned whilst Lucy threw a sideways glance to the bird, but V ignored him; he reached for her and took her by the arm, leading her down the path with Griffon by his side.

Lucy threw a glance over her shoulder to the enormous serpent who was still unmoving. "I wonder if Circe's okay..."

* * *

**Notes:**

Let's try hash tag format for fun!

#Thanks for the reviews! #Now that I think about it, this story is srsly one road trip of hell. #Some of the demons in this fic are super OP. #Some of the chapters have always ended up with either Lucy or V checking or asking each other if they're alright at the end of a life-threatening situation. #LOL. #tbh I'm actually really liking it though. #Visions of V came out! And there's some stuff about how V met Griffon etc. I hope it gets translated to English :) #my butt and back hurts cos of the way im sitting #this chapter was full of Lucy and Griffon bonding lol #we're at chapter 5! #what an incredible goal ive reached #lets hope theres more #i hope this story makes people happy


	6. Half-Remembered Dream

Hi everyone, apologies for the repost, but this is to add an author's note to the beginning of this chapter in response to an anonymous review I received from someone called 'Ashe'.

The review is no longer on my fic for reasons unknown but I feel compelled to respond to it partially because:

The review mentioned something along the lines of "I read your prequel but couldn't get into it, skimmed over some parts, there were long paragraphs etc etc, bookmarked this fic on AO3 but if it is just as bad, I am removing the bookmark". There was some more but I forgot.

1\. That is fine with me. Since the reason why you think the fic is bad due to paragraph spacing or whatever I'll make it a point to change some of that here if I can.

2\. Honestly, I would recommend to just remove the fic from your bookmarks then. It is probably not going to get any better and therefore won't suit your needs and you'll leave another comment like that one thus wasting your own time. If you are going to stop reading my fic, then stop. I don't care. My fic will not be everyone's cup of tea so I suggest you find another fic to read.

I wrote this because I just wanted to provide readers with some V fic on this board and I had some ideas which I wanted to share, and also writing helps me with my crippling depression that I have been suffering for a few years now.

Anyway, to my current readers, thanks for sticking with me but if any of you may also be feeling the same, I'm sorry I cannot write any better.

* * *

**HALF-REMEMBERED DREAM**

_"I'm waiting for someone. Someone from a half-remembered dream."_

...

...

...

They followed Aramis out of the woods where the view changed drastically - the sky cleared up and the fog dissipated; the dark, foreboding trees were no more as the exit revealed a large and wide grassy expanse filled with overgrown, colorful fauna of unimaginable shapes and sizes. Meager humans would believe they'd stepped into the fabled land of Shangri-La.

To the far left was a spectacular rainbow hovering over the side of a cliff where a waterfall could be seen spouting powerful jets of water down unforeseen depths below. In the very middle of the calm land was a large wooden hut that was completely covered with dense shrubbery and a sprinkle of beautiful red flowers; the thatched roof was coated with thick roots of a tree that had embedded itself all over the small structure, branches and leaves sprouting towards the sky, the thick canopy cast a dark shade over the surrounding area. Hag's flower fields didn't seem to have changed much over the course of twenty-something years. The flowers had grown to an exponential size as usual... but her shack seemed to have become far more rundown. It seemed nature was completely taking over.

"I wonder why there is no travel brochure of this place." Griffon muttered as V glanced around; the air was thick with pollen, little fluffy spores dancing around the atmosphere. There was a strong but saccharine aroma prevalent, wafting from the flowers. The large tree growing from Hag's roof was not the only new addition; a scattered group of humans, mostly of old age, were seen lying around the front of the porch. Some were sitting on the ground lazily, eyes closed, whilst others were staring into nothingness and the remaining ones who were awake were kneeling at the foot of the house, hands clasped in silent prayer. Griffon caught on immediately for he added, "What's up with those guys?"

"...Followers, patients, worshippers. Take your pick." V merely replied.

"How'd they get past the giant snake, huh?"

"She controls it with that bell."

"This way." Aramis said, waving at them from the path that would lead them to the porch. She ignored the group of dozing humans albeit smiling at them happily, then opened the front door and disappeared within the hut. Griffon flew over and landed on the ground, strutting towards the humans; he reached over and pecked at a few of them, but they didn't stir. He returned to V's side, watching as V helped Lucy up the porch, taking one step at a time carefully. He used his cane for support, the silver knocking against the old, lanky floorboards, creating a satisfied, rhythmic creak. She seemed to have returned to her lethargic state and once inside, they saw Aramis standing at a rounded table with a few seats in the large room. She was pouring tea for them leisurely out of a brown cermaic pot. "Have a seat." She said.

V eased Lucy into one seat but decided not to take the seat beside her and stood and held his arm out for Griffon who perched himself, glancing around. "Where is Hag?" V said.

"I'm afraid she's left the realm to collect some valuable herbs. She's been gone for a few years though... Left me in charge of the shack and that awful pet of hers, Circe." Aramis said, "If it wasn't for the bell Hag left for me, I wouldn't even be able to control it. But I can help with whatever you need in Hag's absence. As you can see, lots of people have been coming to the woods to be healed of their ailments and have found salvation here. You're welcome to stay for as long as you like; so tell me, how can I be of assistance?"

V threw a glance to the unmoving, quiet Lucy who was staring into space, blinking sluggishly. "Lucy." He murmured, "I intended to bring her to see Hag. When will she return?"

"I don't know," Aramis admitted, before she wandered over and stopped before the girl, peering at her curiously; then she threw a glance to V. "Can I...?"

After some deliberation, V nodded.

Aramis squatted down and proceeded to take Lucy's hand - she did not respond - and Aramis promptly applied two fingers over her wrist, eyebrows scrunching. "She's..." Falling silent, she averted her glance to Lucy and shook her head. "May I ask why? This girl is...or _was_...She shouldn't be here. You used unconventional means, correct?"

"Yes."

She gave him a cautious look. "Who are you? You're human, yet those creatures that accompany you... They're _demons_."

He didn't reply to that. "What about Lucy?" He said.

There was a brief silence; Aramis stared, tongue pressing against her molar in thought. "Alright." Returning her full attention to Lucy, Aramis used her fingers on her wrist again. "Her pulse is weak." Checking her eyes now, Aramis released Lucy's wrist then inspected Lucy's complexion and face closely. Rising to stand, she patted her hands on her clothes, "She's sick."

"Geez, so you mean we came all this way just to be told she's 'sick'?! How 'bout you tell us something we don't know!" Griffon yelled, flapping his wings.

"It's an illness but not a normal sickness, of course. It can't be healed with normal medicine. I can cure her but the ingredients aren't of this world. You'll need to harvest demonic components...if you're up for the task, that is." Aramis retorted, a little dismissively. She looked at V from head to toe scathingly.

"Tell us what we need." V replied; that was all he cared about. To save Lucy, to help her, to restore her. To do everything in his power to get her back. He stepped forwards and suddenly, a searing hot pain tore through his side and he was reduced to one knee, squeezing his eyes as his torso brimmed with excruciating pain and he let out a grunt.

"V, what's wr - " Unable to complete his sentence, Griffon vanished in a burst of black, returning to V's body as dark ink over his chest and arms.

Aramis stepped over towards him. "Oh dear. Looks like you need help too." She muttered; he was clutching his wound and when he pulled his hand back, his fingers were coated in blood. The disciple of Hag was helping him to stand up and was now leading him towards the direction of a bedroom.

He threw his glance over his shoulder to see Lucy looking at him rather confusedly, worriedly. "Ahh..." She made a weak noise, reaching for him.

"Wait, Lucy - " V began; he didn't want to be taken away from her, to be separated. She wouldn't know what was going on. She would be afraid and lost. V said, "Wait - "

Turning to Aramis, she pursed her lips and a pink, wispy mist emitted from her mouth, accompanied with a pleasant but sickly aroma. It enveloped him entirely and he closed his eyes, coughing slightly. When he re-opened his eyes, he was being forced to lie on the bed and she was above him, lips curling.

"Sweet dreams..."

...

Someone was shaking him by the shoulders and he woke up, opening his eyes. Lucy was in front of him, looking concerned, looking far more healthier than she did know and definitely much more _alive_.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

He opened his mouth: "Let go."

Ah, wait, what was this? His lips had moved on its own accord and the noise was muted... blotted and unclear. He was not in control of himself and his body. And this was Vergil's voice and words, not his. Upon glancing around his surroundings, it occurred to him that he was in Hag's shack and specifically, this was Lucy's room at nighttime. Ah, he remembered this and when it happened. This had happened a long time ago... He was reliving Vergil's memories.

"You were having a bad dream." Dream Lucy added.

And he remembered what happened next; beyond his control, he got up, stood and left her room, ignoring her. Back then, he was cold and distant, something he found himself regretting considering their short period of time together, and what happened afterwards. In Vergil's body, he was not in control at all, so if he recalled correctly, he then left the shack to sit outside in the porch and Lucy followed him on her own accord. Ahh, Lucy. Such a fragile and delicate, little human girl. A human girl... a weakling, with a pitiful lifespan, a pitiful reason for existence...and certainly no particular talent whatsoever, no particular ravishing looks or anything that would've appealed to him...she was not a bearer of great power or anything along the lines... yet she was always so devoted and faithful to him. She always put herself before him, and she saw something in him which others could not, no matter how cold or unfeeling he acted towards her. His cruel words were crucial in driving away everyone he knew, to cause him to be on his own for the majority of his lifetime, and it was what he subjected her to during most of their encounters also. However...she was persistent, which caused him much vexation, frustration and incited a fascination with her and stirred a need to protect this particular innocent, good-natured human, _his human, his mate_... although it was this persistence that would ultimately lead to much anguish and heartache.

He had remembered accurately because soon Dream Lucy emerged and sat beside him cross-legged on the porch, and they both stared up at the full moon over the dark, quiet fields.

"Do you like being alone?" Lucy asked.

"I have a preference for solitude, yes. I can gather my thoughts."

V listened as the rest of the conversation unravelled. Following that was an argument. Ah, yes, he remembered this also. Vergil was saying: "Ludicrous. If you weren't such a weakling I wouldn't have resorted to such humiliating means to preserve your wretched life."

_No, I'm doing everything I can to restore you. _

"Then stop protecting me! Nobody asked you!" Dream Lucy replied angrily. He could see it in her eyes - the anger, the sorrow - she looked so _hurt_.

"I'm afraid that's not possible." said Vergil.

_No, I want to continue protecting you._

Vergil continued, "I've yet to find your purpose...whether I need to cut you open and let you bleed it out, or if it requires us to actually mate...regardless, somehow you are key...but that's all you are and there will be nothing else. I was promised power and you will deliver it either way. That's at least, the very end of the bargain which the likes of you can uphold considering you've caused me nothing but headaches and much grief. You asked me why I keep watch and why I gave you that demon protection charm...that is the sole reason why I am preserving your miserable life."

_No, Lucy...I've come to realize...everything I said...it isn't the truth. I was a fool. A fool full of nothing but remorse._

At least Dream Lucy had the gall to yell back, "So that's what you've been thinking the whole entire time! You're just putting up with me because it's all for 'power'! You know what? Just do me a favor and cut me open and just let it bleed out of me. In fact, I lied back there – I saved your life because yeah, I DO like Dante. I like him much, much more than you. He's so much friendlier, smarter, warmer and stronger than you and I wish he was my mate, not you!"

He remembered how infuriated he was because of her words. They were having a heated, juvenile argument, but... Incensed with being compared to Dante, as petty as it sounded as it was a foolish human emotion, he was still undoubtedly affected and at that moment in time, it enraged him like no other. V watched as the rest of the conversation spilled out.

"You prefer Dante over me?" Vergil snarled.

"Yes!" Dream Lucy shouted in response.

_She prefers Dante over me? _

"You think he is stronger than me?"

"Yes!"

_Then...I need more power..._

"And you wish he was your mate?"

_Don't say it._

"Ye – "

He leaned forwards and kissed her. Dream Lucy stopped all at once, shocked, frozen on the spot. It seemed they were only good at hurting each other over and over again without realizing.

_Forgive me, Lucy._

V closed his eyes; although this was merely a memory, it felt real. Perhaps too real. Her lips were warm and soft. It was a pleasant feeling. Being a half-demon meant he needed to be careful when exerting his strength. He had to be careful with her. Any rough movement and he might hurt or break her. He was about to pull away when he felt Dream Lucy kissing him back, their lips moulding in a perfect fit. Wait. This did not happen in the memory. She didn't kiss him back, because he remembered he broke off first and left her on the porch.

A pair of warm hands touched the sides of his face, bringing him close. Re-opening his eyes, they broke apart and Lucy was smiling at him. As she entwined her hands through his hair, he saw that his hair was black. Glancing at himself briefly, he saw that tattoos were sprawled over his chest and arms. No, he was no longer reliving this memory as Vergil.

He was V.

Stunned, V looked at her mutely but she was still smiling, gently placing a hand over his pale cheek before her lips moved: "I see you." She said, their noses almost touching, lips millimetres apart.

"...Is this a dream?" He muttered, as he took her hand into his and held it tightly. "Are you here, Lucy?"

"Does it matter?"

"No." He muttered, leaning forwards and capturing her mouth with his once more.

...

**Meanwhile.**

Lucy was left on her own.

Glancing around, she felt uneasy without V. Where was Aramis taking him? What was taking so long? Standing up, Lucy left her seat and sidled into the corridor. There were a few doors and she couldn't remember which one Aramis had taken V into. Opening one random door quietly, she saw it was nothing but an empty guest room. She closed the door and tried the next one. At first, the handle rattled and it wouldn't budge but after a while of struggling, the door opened and revealed another room. It was bizarre in more ways than one. Lucy slipped inside cautiously, glancing around. The entire room resembled a jungle, filled with thick vines and flowers. It was stuffy and hot, the sweet scent of fauna assaulting her nostrils. The flowers had completely overtaken the room and she didn't know where they had come from. Despite being taken over by nature, Lucy could make out a bed in the corner and the vanity table. She continued inspecting the room until she heard the sound of rapid tapping and turned to her left where she spotted a cracked vanity mirror hanging off the wall.

A familiar old woman with messy, long gray hair and donned in ragged, drab robes was inside, tapping on the surface.

"_(Lucy!)_" She exclaimed, and Lucy's eyes widened thoroughly. "_(Lucy, get out of here as fast as you can! That woman is dangerous!)_"

Backing away in shock, Lucy immediately spun on her heel only to come face to face with Aramis who had appeared behind her from out of nowhere - seizing her by the shoulders, Lucy yelped, terrified, as she blew a pink mist between her lips and Lucy soon found her eyelids drooping, her world growing dark.

...

Lucy wrinkled her nose. Something was tickling her cheeks, her eyelids, her nose... She opened her eyes to find herself lying on a cold, hard floor, billowing drapes surrounding her and brushing over her face, fluttering against a light breeze. Groaning, she slowly pushed herself off the ground to stand and glanced around. Her head was foggy and her senses dulled. She took one step forward and reached out, pushing away a thin drape that was blocking her path only to come across more drapes before her. Confused, she ventured forwards, pushing them out of her way one after the other until she could hear their pounding footsteps behind her, coming closer and closer. Afraid, she started running. She was being pursued by someone. Throwing quick glances behind her shoulder, she saw the dark and fuzzy, foreboding outline of some unknown figure approaching.

The footsteps were becoming closer and closer. This person...this stranger, this _man_ \- he could obviously run faster than her, therefore she realized he was catching up to her quicker than she had expected. She rounded a corner and he followed suit, narrowly missing her as she turned a swift left down the seemingly endless corridor. He was very close to her now and she could hear him shoving the drapes to the side one by one and he could see her backing further within.

At a dead end, Lucy came to a skidding stop on her heels and suddenly she was grabbed from behind by the arm and yanked into a broad chest, arms crushing her into a tight embrace, hands wrapping possessively around her waist. She let out a shriek until a voice breathed into her ear, "Got you, little mouse. You have nowhere else to run."

She gasped. "Vergil?"

Glancing up; indeed, she saw it was none other than the blue twin. "Lucy..." He murmured, his voice a low and deep rumble from the back of his throat and her heart skipped a beat when he turned her round in his grasp and Lucy stared, eyes searching his features. He stood before her, his piercing icy gaze lingering on her form and Lucy slowly reached for him, before she gently placed her hand on the side of his face.

"Oh...Vergil," Lucy whispered, before she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Opening her eyes, she expected him to have disappeared, to have vanished without a trace - something he was good at doing when they were together - however, she was astonished to see that he was still standing before her, arms encircled around her waist. "Please... don't..."

"Why?"

"Because... you forgot me." She said bitterly, "...It was the deal... you were to forget me. You had to. You were to leave me and move elsewhere...meet another woman, and...bear a son with her. That was your destiny. There was no room for me in your life. I hurt you, I turned you into something that you despised. Your pride and dignity was stripped...I did that to you."

"That isn't true." He murmured, "I did not forget you."

She shook her head once more, and a silence spawned until she felt his strong arms wrapping around her. He held her tightly to him yet she could not bring herself to return his embrace.

"Lucy." He muttered.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she bit down on her lip. Despite her words, she missed him terribly and out of her control, she finally wrapped her arms around him in response. She had always been an affectionate individual but Vergil had demonstrated that he was quite the opposite. She had always wanted to hold him, to touch him, to know that he existed and that he cared. Therefore, she was surprised when he pressed his lips over hers in a deep kiss. Softly, at first, before it gradually became more passionate and intense and she clung to him helplessly. Lucy moaned against him and closed her eyes, melting in his arms. His mouth was insistent over hers whilst hers was yielding. Oh, how she longed for this. To be in his arms once more, to be loved by Vergil... to feel his hand going through her hair, to feel his tight and powerful yet affectionate hold on her waist, sending numerous shivers down her spine... However, Lucy's brows scrunched. The more they kissed, the more his lips began to...to shift, to change, to become thinner and...colder and -

Lucy opened her eyes and quickly broke apart. Pushing him away, standing before her was a dark-haired young man.

"_V?!_"

_..._

Griffon appeared beside V, eyes darting to and fro frantically.

"Whoa, where am I? What is this place, where are we? What happened? Ah yeah, V! V, are ya okay?" Turning to the unconscious dark-haired young man who was lying on the bed, eyes closed, Griffon inspected his wound to see that he had stopped bleeding and someone had patched him up (must be the disciple of Hag...) and he tugged at his hair and pecked and prodded at his arm but V did not stir. "Wake up!"

There was no response, V appeared to be in deep sleep.

The bird huffed as he hobbled over to the door and used his beak to clamp on the handle and twist and jerk it. It was locked. Taking to the air, Griffon flapped his wings and sent an electricity blast towards it but the door remained intact and his attack disappeared into nothingness. He leapt onto the table and scoured the rest of the room. The door was locked...Lucy was not here...and the windows were barred. He flew to the window and folded his wings, strutting over to the pane and tried to squeeze himself out. Luckily, he was able to get out by sucking in his chest and he arrived outside. They were on the first floor, but the shack was built atop a massive hill and so was raised a few metres high above ground. Falling from this height could be lethal. Glancing around, he spotted another barred window close to V's room and flew over, peeking inside where he saw Lucy slumped against the door. He squeezed himself inside and flew over to her, landing by her side.

"Hey! Not you too! Wake up!" He started pecking at her arm and side, her leg and head but to no avail. "Hey, wake up! Wake up! Lucy?!" He yelled, but the girl merely moaned tiredly before she lifted a hand, swatting him to the side, groaning. She greatly resembled the rest of the lethargic humans outside the shack. "What's going on here?" Griffon muttered, before he flew over to the window and peered at the bars of her room before he squeezed himself outside once again.

Outside, he glanced at the hut and didn't see anything particularly out of the ordinary, except the roots that were growing over the walls of the shack were creeping and sliding around as though they had a mind of its own. Griffon flew round the corner and stopped upon hearing the noise of a bell ringing in a rhythmic fashion; hiding behind a corner, he poked his head out as he spotted Aramis at the back door, holding up the same bronze bell they'd seen earlier which she was now fixing to a contraption attached to the side of the wall - a device that would cause the bell to ring at least once every few minutes or so.

Lurking at the foot of the woods, was the Naga who was staring at Aramis' direction hauntingly before the serpent slithered away and out of sight. Aramis closed the door behind her.

"...This place gives me the heebie jeebies." Griffon grunted as he left his hiding spot and flew towards the closed door. There was a window nearby so he flew to the top of the window pane, latched on using his talons and he peered through the dirty glass. Inside, he saw a kitchen where Aramis had her back to him. She was standing in front of a large cauldron that was bubbling viciously. A thick red stew was brewing inside. Tomato soup, perhaps?

"Needs more salt." He could hear her uttering under her breath as she grabbed a canister and emptied some white granules into the broth. With one hand clutching a ladle, she then reached over and tossed a few logs from a pile on the floor and into the fire as she hummed to herself.

"What's she up to..." The bird muttered, before Aramis lifted up the ladle and the contents sloshed around and something broke the surface of the stew, floating, and it was then he saw that it -

It was a severed human head.

...

"V! V, wake up!" Griffon returned to V's room, zooming around him in circles continuously. "Trap! Trap! It's a trap! Let's get outta here!"

Still no response; V was lying on the bed, unconscious.

"Shit!" He promptly left the room, flying towards Lucy's room to see her awake and at the window now, clutching at the bars meekly. "Lucy? You're awake?"

Despite looking a little sluggish, she nodded miserably.

"But how? Oh, fuck it, never mind! It's a fucking trap! The pot, oh, the fucking pot, I just had to see the fucking pot! It had a_ human head_ \- "

Lucy seemed to have sobered up somewhat upon his revelation. "What?"

"That girl! Well, she certainly ain't a girl! She was cooking a decapitated head!" Griffon exclaimed, "We need to get outta here!"

She pondered to herself, then turned to Griffon. "...The bell." Lucy uttered, but then there was the gentle sound of knocking on Lucy's door.

"_Lucy? Ohhhh, Lucy? It's me, Aramis_." said a familiar, muffled voice before the bolt slid away and the door opened; Lucy whirled round whilst Griffon zoomed to the side and out of sight. The door opened and Aramis stepped inside the room without further ado and approached, stopping before her. Reaching for her, she helped Lucy up and eased her off the bed away from the window and onto the floor. "You must be starving," Aramis said as she smiled widely, her lips pulling back to reach her ears, "_It's time to_ _eat_."

* * *

**Notes.**

1\. The intro quote is from the movie 'Inception'. It's an amazing scene, and the next part is: _"Cobb? Impossible. We were young men together. I'm an old man... Filled with regret. Waiting to die alone, huh. __I've come back for you... To remind you of something. Something you once knew. That this world is not real. __To convince me to honor our arrangement? __To take a leap of faith, yes. Come back, so we can be young men together again. Come back with me."_

2\. A major problem is I keep envisioning V as a completely different character and not Vergil, even though he is, if that makes sense. So in this chapter, V had a dream whilst Lucy had a nightmare. V's dream is from Chapter 18 of Before I Die Alone where you don't see Vergil's perspective during that chapter; here, you see his perspective and how he really felt, but then you see Lucy seeing V and its kind of like, his inner desire I guess, where he really wants Lucy to see him.

3\. For some backstory info and SPOILERS for anyone who hasn't read the prequel and if you are interested in reading my fic, a million thank yous but unfortunately I'll be spoiling it here - When I was writing this, I went back to the prequel and copied/pasted parts of chapter 18, particularly the end of that chapter when they have an argument. I reread and realized that Vergil and Lucy hurt each other a lot - usually by harsh actions/words although Vergil did most of the hurting lol. Another thing was Vergil disappeared on her a lot on his quest to obtain more power and he left her behind a few times. They didn't have a healthy relationship as I made Vergil extremely unfeeling and ambitious on his quest. Even after 20 or chapters, he didn't change. At the end, Vergil and Lucy settle in a small town and he becomes a demon hunter in an attempt for a 'human life' with her only for the residents of the town to turn against them.

I hope to change some things in this fic. Really, I do T_T

4\. Profiles yay! Usually I write these at certain milestone chapters so I can keep track myself of what's going on in my own fic; at the moment I am hitting a bit of writer's block though urgh.

**V** \- V retained the memories of Lucy and resurrected her after he discovers that she is buried in St Orsola. As the humanity of Vergil, he loves Lucy unconditionally and wants to do everything he can to restore her. He shows a lot of emotion ranging from affection, jealousy, anger to remorse.

**Griffon** \- Griffon and Lucy are starting to bond. Some of his favorite hobbies includes pulling her hair, pecking her head, nipping her ear and also sitting on top of her head.

**Lucy** \- Vergil's mate, who chose to sacrifice her life in exchange for Vergil's and his memories of her a long time ago after discovering that his destiny was to meet another woman who would bear him a son. As V resurrected her using unconventional means, she is a barely functioning human and goes in and out of a stupor, with occasional periods of lucidity which do not last long. However, she is shown to respond when V reads to her.

**Tim** \- Tim is not his real name. He is a crossroads demon who can be summoned using the user's blood and an ancient incantation not known to many. Although he is passive, he is summoned by V in order to return the 20 years of Vergil's life and remaining missing memories, but in a fit of rage, attempts to kill V as he resurrected Lucy and remembers her, thus voiding his contract. He is as old as time itself and is represented by eyeballs and a clock and his real form is an hourglass.

**Circe** \- A Naga that guards the Deathwoods and also Hag's pet; Nagas are seven-headed serpents. She attacks V and the group who are not strong enough to defeat her.


	7. V for Vergil

Good morning everyone, hope you are well. As usual, thanks for reviews/alerts/favs. Really glad to know some of you are enjoying this story. Thank you so much, I find it hard to motivate myself to write recently. I have just noticed I now have over 70 alerts for this pic, which is truly awesome but let's see how this goes.

* * *

**V FOR VERGIL**

_"People will reveal who they are if you just pay attention."_

...

...

...

As Aramis dragged a reluctant Lucy out of the room, Griffon shot back inside and with a flap of his wings, sent a powerful bolt of electricity towards her direction, knocking the girl off her feet and sent her crashing to the wall with a scream whilst Lucy tumbled to the side.

"Not on my watch, sister!" Griffon yelled, before he turned to Lucy. "Well, what are ya waiting for? Get outta here!"

Lucy hastily stood up and began making a beeline for the exit. Griffon watched as Aramis slowly pushed herself off the ground and got back up, growling in fury. The wall was cracked from the impact and her clothes disheveled, but her eyes had turned blood red and her lips pulled back, fangs bared, before she lifted her arm and from her long sleeve, a large cluster of thick and heavy tree roots burst forth and slammed towards Griffon's direction. He evaded by flying to the side and the roots smashed into the wall, causing it to crumble; he shot another crackle of electricity at her direction in response but she avoided and followed after him, sending another wave of roots and vines towards him which he also avoided by darting left and right. As he passed the window, roots smashed through the glass from outside and ensnared him by the talons, causing him to squawk.

He was freed when a dark spike rammed through the root and severed it in half, causing Aramis to cry out in anger. Turning to the source, a black panther jumped out from the undergrowth and landed on all four paws at the ready.

"About damn time!" Griffon exclaimed as Shadow joined his side and glanced at him. Together, they both faced the demon.

Meanwhile, Lucy was making her way through the shack, ducking and dodging from demonic tree roots and flinging open random doors. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she could see Griffon and Shadow engrossed in battle with the demon who was wholly preoccupied with the two. Aramis' appearance was becoming less and less human; her skin was turning a foul-green and resembling the texture of a tree, her eyes red and insect-like. The faint ringing noise continued.

"V?! Where are you?" Lucy yelled, as she opened one door and stumbled inside where she was greeted with the sight of a fresh, mangled corpse that was lying over a countertop, a cleaver sticking out of its belly. Meanwhile, many severed arms and legs were hanging off hooks on the wall, identical to what one would see in a butcher's shop. A few decapitated heads sat on a shelf, eyes closed, mouth agape in agony. Lucy backed away, bumping into a shelf and knocking the contents down. A few jars dropped off and smashed to the ground, revealing eyeballs, tongues, severed fingers and a few pulpy, human hearts. She stumbled and turned the other way, finding a door that would eventually lead her to the exit. Once outside, she could see Aramis' followers running away from the shack in terror and the smell of pollen and perfume was thick in the air. She stopped at the doorway, clutching the frame as sounds of the battle could be heard in the background. No... how could V do this to her? Why did he bring her back to this? To this horrible, cruel world?

The bell rang again and it was much louder; turning to her right, she saw it affixed to the door. This was the bell Circe despised, the one that controlled the Naga and had once been used by Hag, but not for this purpose. Lucy scooped it off the wall and held it in her hands where she'd unintentionally made it ring. Grabbing it by the swinging appendage inside that would cause the noise, Lucy tried to rip it off, tugging and pulling with all her might. No use, it was stuck fast.

...

Meanwhile, Griffon and Shadow were still fighting the demon - the bird started zooming around the room as quickly as he could, spinning out of the way as she tried to snatch him in her arms whilst Shadow kept the full offensive on the melee side. The shack would not be able to hold up any longer, the walls and pipes emitting low groans and creaks as the roots began to stretch further and further over the shack and into the walls; the roots continued to shift and move in a bid to snatch the bird and the panther only for the bird to evade in seconds.

Screaming in frustration, Aramis prepared another assault whilst Lucy returned to the room. "Griffon!" She yelled, and the bird turned to her as she clutched the bell tightly in her hand. "I need your help!"

"Oh yeah?" The bird squawked, ducking away from a massive tree root that had been heading his way. "I'm a little busy here, if you haven't noticed!"

"I need you to - " Lucy was promptly interrupted by a swinging vine that slammed into her and threw her against the wall. Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, gasping in pain. The bell dropped out of her hands and clattered to the floor.

Aramis saw, her eyes narrowing. "I see what you're up to."

Sending a few vines to seize the bell, Lucy re-opened her eyes as roots and vines began to wrap around her body and she struggled against her confines as much as she could, pulling her arm free and trying to reach for the bell until one of the tendrils wrapped itself tightly around her ankle and lifted her high up into the air and her view went upside down. "Griffon, get the bell!" She yelled, just as one of the vines started creeping towards it in an effort to snag it.

"Alright! I'm on it!" Griffon immediately swooped towards it, sending a bolt of lightning and causing the vine to drop the bell and soon it was snatched by the bird, who got smacked in the chest by another thick vine that Aramis sent after it - and he dropped the bell, his grip on it loosening and it was falling. Aramis tried to grab it but it was then seized by the panther who caught it in its jaws and another large cluster of roots came bursting through the windows, going after the panther who leapt and ducked away whilst Lucy remained pinned to the wall until the beast rapidly tried to make its way towards her, only for a vine to come shooting after it.

"Look out!" She shouted, just as the vine wrapped around the panther by the middle and lifted it off the ground; the bell fell out of its jaws as it struggled.

Griffon zoomed towards the bell as quickly as he could. Aramis spotted the bird from the corner of her eye and sent her fist towards it and opening her claws, she crushed it under her grip. There! She got him!

It fell silent and she was cackling, opening her palm to see that the bird had been replaced with a large piece of broken pipe. Gritting her teeth, she cast it aside. "Stay still, pesky bird!" Aramis growled as the bird flew out from his hiding place, laughing at her whilst she evaded an attack from Shadow, who had freed itself and was now whaling blows on the rest of the roots that were surrounding them. How was the human controlling these demons if he was unconscious? The bird grabbed the bell once more and started flying towards Lucy. Furious, she slammed her roots everywhere in an attempt to destroy him once and for all. With one final snatch, she grabbed the bird and this time, she saw him struggling and she squeezed her fist so hard the bird promptly disappeared and she smirked triumphantly.

"Got you." Aramis hissed, "You'll be a fine addition to my stew!"

"Not quite!" yelled a voice, and she turned to see Griffon a fraction away from her with Shadow by his side.

"How?!" She screamed, eyes wide with fury, "How did you - "

She stopped.

It was... silent.

The bell.

The bell!

Her eyes went wide upon realization, and she unfurled her fist to see the mangled bell in her palm.

Soon, the ground trembled and the demon gasped as the roof of the hut caved in seconds and a dark shadow covered her form and she was seized from above - it was the serpent - and as it lifted its giant head up, they could see Aramis' roots sticking out of its jaws, muffled screams emitting from within as the Naga shook its head fiercely from the side to side, the muffled screams soon growing silent. Lucy was finally freed and she dropped to the floor, coughing, before glancing up at the serpent. Aramis' body went limp after a few moments, and blood began dripping down the sides of Circe's great jaws. The awful crunch of bones could be heard and Lucy stared as Circe turned and discarded the chewed up corpse on the ground outside in a heap of saliva, venom and blood. Aramis resembled nothing but a pile of mashed up meat and limbs before dissolving into nothingness.

Rising to stand, Lucy made her way outside. They noticed the perfumed aroma was slowly beginning to vanish from the atmosphere and the serpent glanced around for a short while before it proceeded to slither away. Griffon and Lucy exchanged looks before they followed the serpent with Shadow plodding after them silently; Circe arrived at the base of the tree that was growing out of Hag's roof and with great strength, she reached over and clamped her bloodstained jaws around the tree and pulled it off entirely - the sound was painfully loud, similar to a bellow of thunder as roots, earth and leaves hailed from the sky - and the snake dumped the tree to the ground which began to turn into a pale, ashen white color before it ultimately withered into dust, revealing a form within that was curled up in a fetal position.

"Hag?!" Lucy exclaimed with wide eyes as soon as she laid eyes on the figure; it was an old woman with long, gray hair and dressed in shabby robes, and Lucy hastily made her way over and dropped to her knees before her. "Hag?"

Lifting her into the arms, the old woman started coughing and slowly opened her eyes after a few tense moments of silence. "...Lucy...?"

Nodding, she said, "Yes, it's me."

The old woman's eyes went wide. "...Oh..."

"It's me, Hag. I'm here. I'm really here."

Hag raised a wrinkly old hand to lay on the side of Lucy's face and croaked out, "My poor child...I thought I'd never see you again."

...

**Later.**

"Will he be okay?" Lucy asked worriedly.

Hag let go of V's arm after taking his pulse and let it rest by his side, nodding. "He's fine. He's just asleep. It's a toxin, but it's harmless and it will wear off soon." She got up off the bed and hobbled over to the table whilst Lucy moved to sit on the edge of V's bed, watching him as he slept, pulling the blanket higher over his body and tucking his long, pale arm in. Hag watched the interaction curiously before she said, "Lucy, who did he say he was again?"

"He said his name's V." Lucy replied, "...He's been taking care of me."

Hag twiddled her fingers. "...I see."

"Yeah."

"...Just..._V_?"

"Yep."

"And did he ever tell you what the 'V' stands for?"

"No."

"Did you ask?"

"Uh...No." Lucy said, sweating lightly. In all honesty, she hadn't asked him yet - she didn't think she had the proper chance to ask. Previously and she had a thousand questions running in her mind but now nothing remotely came to mind. "Okay, when he wakes up, I'll ask."

Following that, Hag and Lucy turned to the young man and scratched at her chin. "How long have you known him for?"

"A few days."

"And that's also how long you have been traveling with him?"

Lucy nodded. "V brought me back, Hag."

Now Hag appeared wary. "Did he tell you how?" She asked, and Lucy shook her head. "Resurrections are, and require, powerful dark magic, my dear." She murmured, before noticing Lucy's concerned expression. Sighing, she decided to drop the matter for now. "There is a lot to catch up on. It must be so confusing for you. Let me know how I can help."

"I want to tell you everything, Hag. I want to tell you but..."

"First, you want to know where Vergil is?"

Lucy hesitated, then said, "Yes."

"...I don't know where Vergil is." Hag said with a sigh, "I'm sorry, Lucy."

She didn't appear surprised. "It's...it's fine. Hag, if he's still alive, he'll be a lot older than me now. He'll be forty something. If I reappear to him, enter his life again, I don't know how he'd react." She wondered if she should tell Hag about how she learned that his destiny to meet another woman and have a son with her. Lucy said instead, "He might have his own family. I don't belong in his life. I could even be the part he wants to forget, to erase. Maybe it's better off if we don't see each other ever again." Now that she thought about it, why was she _even here_? Again, she needed to ask V.

"Of course not, my dear." Hag said, which surprised her somewhat.

"Hag, do...do you know if V is related to Vergil and Dante in any way? Perhaps he's...another _Son of Sparda_?"

Hag shook her head. "No, he's not. That, I know."

And Lucy's shoulders sagged. Right, well that scratched the theory of V's origin completely off her list. "V's human."

"Yes."

"But he can use demons?"

"Yes." Hag said, "They are his familiars. It means the host has some demonic power."

"How does one gain demonic power?"

"It's possible, my dear. It's not completely unheard of." Hag replied, "The user could have created a pact with demons, or simply taught themselves, immersing into the dark arts. But by no means is this an easy feat, of course."

Lucy pondered to herself. V was becoming more and more mysterious than ever.

Hag moved to sit at the table in the middle of the room and Lucy followed, taking the seat beside her. With a sigh, she held her cane tightly and the knot in Lucy's gut came undone upon the terribly disappointing news. V was not another relative of Dante's, and Hag didn't know what happened to Vergil. "Listen. Don't worry about it too much. Don't think about it too much. From what I can tell, this V gentleman seems to really care for you, and he's taken care of you unconditionally. I think he's a good man, Lucy."

"Yeah, I know, but I'd still like to know."

The witch sighed heavily, "...I understand completely. My dear, so much has happened. I can't believe it's been more than twenty years and yet here you are before me, looking exactly the same as the day you did when you left my home. I still remember...you looked so happy when you set off with Vergil that day...and I never saw you again. When this young man wakes up, I have to ask him how he did it. I didn't know what had happened to you, Lucy... Whether you were with Vergil the entire time...but if I had known what had happened to you, I wouldn't have... I'd have asked you not to leave, I could've - " Hag slapped her wrinkly hand over her mouth, "To think...you were dead...you had been _killed_."

As Hag started to weep silently, Lucy watched uncomfortably before she wrapped her arm around the little old lady and brought her close into a tight embrace.

"It's...it's too sad, my dear. It's too..." Still sobbing, Hag wept bitterly whilst shaking her head again and again. "And Vergil is...My grandson is...I don't know what happened to him... and Dante has not visited me for years and I'm so afraid for them. My poor boys. Sparda and Eva...I have failed them."

Lucy opened her mouth to say something but ultimately nothing came out. She had wanted to apologize to Hag for the suffering she had endured from Dante and Vergil's prolonged absence and not knowing what had happened to them, and for discovering that Lucy had been killed... and although resurrected, the fact did not seem to bring Hag any peace of mind. Lucy couldn't find the right words. Heck, were there even _any_ right words...? A long silence spawned with Lucy rubbing at Hag's shoulders warmly until the old witch finally stopped sniffling and dried her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." She snivelled loudly, patting her on the hand. "Ah, Dante... Dante would be so happy to see you again, my dear. When he used to visit me, he told me all these fantastic stories about you and Vergil."

Hag tried to smile but it was no use; Lucy was far more glum than she had ever been, "A lot happened between me and Vergil. At the very end, I lost him." She finished quietly. "...He was all I had, Hag."

"Go find Dante, my dear."

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, I will."

"The man named V," Hag added, patting Lucy's hand warmly, "What else did he tell you?"

"He said he wants to restore me. I...I really think he knows Vergil or is connected to him somehow - "

Hag waited, as she believed Lucy was about to say more, but when she noticed that Lucy was now sitting limply, staring emptily into space, her eyes had completely glazed over. "Lucy? Lucy!" Hag cried, and she shook her head sadly.

Taking her by the arm, Hag left V's room with Lucy and returned to the lounge to see Griffon outside who was flying in circles around Circe - the serpent had shrunk to a more manageable size and was trying to snatch him in her jaws - the interchange looked pleasant and playful, however, so Hag didn't pay further attention to the duo although the bird returned, flying through the broken window to settle down on the table. Hag glanced around her destroyed kitchen and sighed.

"What a mess..." She muttered, whilst the bird looked at her with its head tilted to the side. "Ah...good bird. You've worked very hard, haven't you? I have just the thing..." Hag eased Lucy into a chair and went to a random, lone cupboard, opening it to reveal nothing but cobwebs and dust which she batted away with her cane. Reaching inside, she grabbed a mould-covered jar and opened the lid, pulling out two stiff dead mice. "Here you go. A special treat. Pickled, century-old mice." Placing it on the table, Griffon fluffed his wings then pecked at the body with his beak before he scooped it into his mouth. Circe appeared at the window also, her forked tongue spitting out and Hag gave her two mice also.

"Lots of people died here, lady." The bird said with a sneer after he had downed his meal, "Think it'll do ya some real good if you start looking into some real estate."

"You're right." The witch murmured as she looked at her surroundings once more. Her shack was damaged beyond repair. Only two to three rooms were effectively of use now - V's room, Hag's own room and the kitchen which was still chock full of human body parts.

The rest of her shack was destroyed... and it did not feel like her home anymore. A stranger had taken over - Hag had been imprisoned in the tree that was growing out of her own home for a while now. From what she knew and what Circe told her, the demon that had imprisoned her was a trespasser called Aramis who had tricked Hag, arriving at the hut one day with the pretence of becoming a disciple but inevitably had darker, ulterior motives. After imprisoning Hag in the tree, Aramis gained control of Circe, who was more than capable of destroying Aramis in a single bite (literally). With the bell destroyed, Circe left no time in returning to devour the flower demon but a lot of innocent lives had been lost.

Hag sighed heavily as Circe kept her head low before her. "I'm sorry, master, I could not protect you." The snake hissed as she stared at her with beady red eyes.

The witch merely patted the old snake on the head, inspecting the rest of the damage the hut had sustained over the course of years. Aramis had also gathered a bunch of loyal followers over the years, albeit mostly tricking them to become her food, subduing them with her toxin. The surviving humans had run off somewhere, disappearing into the woods. She hoped they were returning home.

Footsteps could be heard and Hag glanced to the doorway to see the young man named V with his silver cane in hand and he spotted Lucy seated on the chair, blinking into space vacantly. Whilst the bird flew over to him immediately, ecstatic to see his master, Hag watched as V went over to Lucy and crouched down in front of her, scooping her hand in his. Hag raised a brow in response. "You're awake." She muttered, tottering over to them with her cane.

"Yes." He replied; his voice was soft and gentle, "...You have my thanks."

"Not a problem, young man. Thank you for bringing Lucy back." She replied, and V held onto Lucy's hand even tighter and Hag stared with much interest. Should she stop him? Pull his hand away and tell him that Lucy was already taken? That she had a lover? Inspecting the young man from head to toe, she squinted her eyes at him. After a while of intense scrutiny, she said, "Did Vergil send you?"

V turned to her slowly and Hag waited. However, he threw his glance to the floor briefly, then swerved his gaze back to the old woman. "...No."

"Then how do you know Lucy, and how did you know to come find me?"

"Vergil did not send me... but he is the reason why I am here."

Hag's eyes widened. "So...you know where Vergil is?"

"If I said I did, and if I said I didn't...what would you do?"

Hag seemed genuinely puzzled by his words. "Well, I...I would..." She stopped to scratch her head, "Just who are you?"

"My name is V. That's all you need to know." Deciding he'd had enough of this interrogation, he added, "Can you heal her?"

Another steely silence passed until Hag nodded. "Possibly. It might take a few weeks or so." She muttered, "And I know demons have gone after her. Don't worry, I can create charms and wards to keep them away."

The young man appeared genuinely grateful and clutched Lucy's hand, lifting her palm to his face before brushing his thin lips over her knuckles, eyes closed. "Thank you, Hag." Glancing at Lucy, he smiled as he placed a hand over her cheek, brushing some hair away from the sides of her face.

...

Later on the night and V woke up and glanced around the room. Hag had welcomed them to stay at her shack although it was completely beyond reparable and she would need to move soon but she had assured them that they could stay for a few days to rest up properly. With limited space, they'd resorted to sharing a room and Lucy was given the only bed in the room whilst he would take the chair. Glancing over, Lucy was missing from the bed. He got up from the chair and grabbed his cane. V left the room and into the corridor before he headed towards the back porch and towards the door, opening it.

Lucy sat cross-legged with her back to him, staring up at the glossy full moon that was hanging high in the dark sky, surrounded by a sprinkle of stars. He took one step forwards and then his vision blurred, his head throbbed, his heart lurched. Clutching his head, V was hit with a bout of deja vu - although this had definitely happened before. She turned round, hearing him approach and at first, they stared at each other in tepid silence until she said, "Hello, V. Have a seat."

Interesting. She was talking normally and V slowly sat down beside her at the invitation. She observed him for a few seconds before she let out a sigh and then gazed at the moon whilst he stared at her. "Lucy. It's late." V murmured.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Are you well?"

"I'm okay, just tired. How's your wound?"

"Fine."

"Good." She replied. They simmered into a brief silence until Lucy added, "We haven't had the chance to talk properly. I wanted to thank you. Also, I want to know more about you."

He had an inkling she would ask him this question once she regained lucidity. "Ah...well..." He smiled wryly as he threw his gaze to his lap, where his cane was lying horizontal over his legs, "...I'm afraid there is not much to me, Lucy."

"You could start with your name. What does 'V' stand for?"

He hesitated, before he uttered, "_He is called by thy name, for he calls himself a Lamb: he is meek and he is mild, he became a little child: I a child and thou a lamb, we are called by his name_."

It occurred to her that he'd recited a verse from a poem. "You...you read that to me before."

The corner of his lips tugged upwards. "...I did." From within his jacket, he pulled out his book with a thin smile, holding it up to her, "...When I was a boy I preferred to stay indoors...and read a lot of books."

Lucy stared at the brown book with the 'V' embedded on the front before glancing at the name of the author, "William Blake?"

"Yes."

"Your favorite, I bet."

"Indeed." He replied. There was a brief silence as V put his book away safely.

"V?"

"Yes, Lucy?"

"Are you...um...Never mind."

"What were you going to ask me?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter anyway, not anymore." She muttered. Their gazes met but neither looked away. She tried to remember where she may or have seen him from; perhaps she knew him a long time ago. But if more than twenty years had passed since her death, V appeared to be in his mid-twenties so he must have been a child when she was alive...but that didn't make sense either, no. V manipulated demons. Griffon, Shadow and the other demon he had - the golem - he _controlled_ them. She just couldn't figure it out and she was trying hard, so very hard if she had forgotten... They held gazes for a long time as she tried to suss out his identity until he slowly began to lean in to her. She blinked, sliding her gaze to his lips, but did not move. "Did Vergil send you?"

His fist curled at once. Hag had asked him the same question also. "No." He bit out as he retreated from her, returning to his spot.

"Then Dante sent you?"

"No. This has _nothing_ to do with Dante."

"Then tell me everything."

He fell silent.

"Come on, V. Tell me the truth."

"Forgive me, Lucy. Only time will tell."

She was becoming a little weary from his cryptic words. "V, tell me." Facing him properly, she said, "Tell me who you really are, and why you brought me back? Who am I to you and why do you care for me so much - "

"Because I love you, Lucy." He said, "I love you more than anything, _more than my own life_."

Another silence spawned at once.

Her jaw dropped and she began spluttering incoherent nonsense. Her cheeks reddened as she immediately got up to stand. It seemed she wasn't expecting that answer. He followed, rising to stand in front of her and she turned away, unable to look at him in the eye. He could tell she was uncomfortable. "V... okay, Griffon said something to me similar before, but I-I didn't...didn't think much about it."

"It is the truth."

_Is this a joke? Is he serious?_ Her thoughts were running amok. "Why? I mean...V, I don't...look, I...I don't even know you, I've never even seen you before in my life!"

When he returned to silence, Lucy shook her head, turned away and she began to head for the door.

A twang of despair hit him; he knew he had to get through to her before she left. He had wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her the truth about him. It was now or never. This was the right moment. "Lucy, wait."

She stopped in mid-step, then slowly turned to him.

"Please." He implored, "...You're right. I should tell you. I did not mean to confuse you, to frighten you. I'm - _Nngh!_" Unfortunately V doubled over, his entire body burning with excruciating pain that had sprung into his system from nowhere the moment he had wanted to tell her the truth. Was it the wound from earlier, and had it opened again? Dropping to his knees, he had to use his cane to keep him supported. A pain like no other had spread throughout his chest and he cried out, clutching at his heart, squeezing his eyes shut.

"V? What's wrong?" Lucy was at his side, helping him up. When the pain finally subsided, he was panting. Unable to form words, he merely looked at her in discomfort and her expression softened. "...Are you okay?"

"I..." He said weakly, struggling with his words.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean... just take it easy." She muttered, before she looped his arm over her shoulder and she helped him to stand.

No... he was wanting to tell her his identity, who he really was. He had wanted to confess but he couldn't... As though his very well-being was torn apart into a million pieces, he had been prevented to do so. She helped inside the shack and into the room they shared where he limped over to the chair and sat down, panting.

"V, use the bed." Lucy said as she crouched beside him.

He shook his head. "No...I can rest like this..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes..." He muttered, "Go to sleep, Lucy."

She bit her lip. Vergil used to prefer to sit on the chair too... Lucy made a disgruntled noise before she saw his bandaged chest. Shaking her head, she tugged on his arm and gestured to the bed. "No way, you need to lie down properly, you need proper - "

Lucy stopped when she spotted the lone figure standing outside in front of the field from the window. It lingered for a while before slinking inside, into the tall flower stalks, vanishing from sight.

He glanced up at her, but she wasn't looking at him. "What is it?"

She let go of V, went up to the window and stared outside for a long moment. Taking a few steps back, she proceeded to leave the room - flung the door open and bolted out. He called after her, however she ignored him so he trailed after her, limping. She had already left the shack, heading deeper and deeper into the fields, as though possessed.

It was then he saw the tall, dark shadow in the midst of the fields, waiting for her. Momentarily stunned, he breathed out, "...Urizen?"

* * *

**Notes:**

1\. Hag had been physically imprisoned in the tree that was growing out of her own home for a few years and her corporeal form banished to a mirror dimension. The demon that had imprisoned her was Aramis, a red Lily of the Valley that bloomed in an ancient battlefield near Hag's shack. The flower, originally a beautiful shade of white, was stained red from the blood of fallen solders and had become corrupted. It's lifespan was extended a great deal and after absorbing blood for countless of years, it had developed a demonic nature and thirst for human blood. After imprisoning Hag in the tree, Aramis gained control of Circe, who was more than capable of destroying Aramis in a single bite (literally). The bell prevented Circe from going anywhere near the shack, thus banishing her to the woods. With the bell destroyed, Circe left no time in returning to devour the flower demon.

2\. V is forbidden from telling Lucy his real identity.

3\. Lucy finally engaged in proper conversation with V, but I found myself wondering what she would really want to know/say to him and I had a hundred things running through my mind. First things first, I expected her to suspect he has some sort of connection to Vergil. Considering Dante didn't recognize or suspect V to be Vergil at all, I didn't think Lucy would as well haha. I also expected her to be jaded about Vergil now. She's also prone to some self-wallowing.


	8. Bride of Urizen

There's a neat function of Ao3 where you can add a chapter summary! Here is today's brief summary:

Naked Lucy, half-naked V. It's not what you think though lol, because this story is still T...well, maybe until the last part.

* * *

**BRIDE OF URIZEN**

_"You fill up my senses like a night in the forest,  
__like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain,  
__like a storm in the desert, __like a sleepy blue ocean.  
__You fill up my senses, come fill me again. _

_Come let me love you, let me give my life to you,  
let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms,  
let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you.  
Come let me love you, come love me again."_

...

...

...

"Lucy!" V yelled; his eyes wandered, searching the fields but to no avail. He yelled her name a few more times but there was no response. He was met with silence for she had simply disappeared. Gritting his teeth, he limped down the stairs of the back porch as quickly as he could but it was too late - she was gone. Griffon appeared beside him in a spray of black, noticing V's curled fist, his knuckles turning white as he clutched his cane. As the bird glanced at him, V lifted the cane, pointed to the dark fields with his brows furrowed in anger. "_Go_."

"Alright, you can count on me! I got this!" Griffon took off into the night sky, flying towards the direction Lucy had vanished into.

Summoning Shadow under his feet, he was about to follow the bird until Hag came hobbling out with a lit lantern in hand. "What's going on?" She asked. Spotting the young man at the base of the fields, she hobbled towards him, glancing around warily. "V? Where's Lucy?"

"He took her." He growled as she held up the lantern to the field, casting a warm glow on the fauna. A few mice could be seen scurrying back within the stalks, scampering away. Throwing his gaze to the ground, V uttered under his breath, "...I was helpless."

"Who's '_he'_?"

"Urizen."

"Who? Oh, never mind...you can explain later. Use this." Hag replied; taking his hand, she unfurled his palm and plopped something weighty and V saw that she had given him an old, rusting metal device. Hag added, "It's a compass. It belongs to Lucy, actually. No matter where she is, it will always point to her and you will be able to find her. This compass ensures she will always be found, by the right person, for it is the will of Sparda. So, if you keep it with you from now on, I'm sure it'll be helpful should you find yourselves separated. Now off you go and good luck."

V raised a brow in return. "How peculiar."

"Ohohoho, I trust you'll find it _most useful_."

"...Thank you, Hag." Clutching the compass tightly in his hand, he saw the metal dial that was motionless before it suddenly began to spin rapidly before pointing unyieldingly to the south; he started heading towards the direction to where the little dial was pointing to and Hag was waving to him as he left.

She was smiling widely as he departed.

...

The compass was pointing unwaveringly to a cave up ahead that was not too far from Hag's shack and V saw that Lucy was inside, standing still in the middle of the cavern. She was dressed in an odd fashion as she stood, donned in a long flowing black dress with off the shoulder straps and a thin black veil pulled over her head, covering her face. Therefore, he couldn't see her eyes but he believed she was under his control. Her arms were also covered in long, elbow-length black lace gloves, creating a complete outfit. A shadowy form was circling her as though inspecting her; it had taken on a more discernible form in the shape of a man, but he knew who it was immediately. There was no doubt about it. The shadow stopped in front of the girl and the veil was lifted up, revealing a glassy-eyed Lucy. As V's knuckles clenched tightly, Griffon and Shadow appeared beside him on his left and right, peeking in.

"I know you are there. There is no use in hiding." said a disembodied voice that echoed around the walls, and V did not hesitate to step inside with Griffon and Shadow trailing beside him. The voice continued whilst the shadow moved to Lucy's left. "You dare stand before me?"

"Let her go." V said, his gaze fixed on Lucy solely. She didn't respond in any way, her empty eyes staring endlessly into space.

The shadow proceeded to encircle her, a black swirling mass, a hand presumably, touched the base of her chin. "Foolish, insignificant insect. This girl is mine. My bride has returned to me. Together, we shall rule the Underworld." The voice boomed loudly, before the shadow itself moved again and launched an attack at V's direction. It was quickly diverted thanks to Griffon who sent three crackling pillars of thunder at the shadowy form.

"Hey, uh, V...you sure that's Urizen?" The bird asked.

"No...it is merely his shadow. Urizen won't risk leaving the Qliphoth. This shadow poses little threat."

"Whatever, let me kick this guy's ass anyway!" The bird yelled, before throwing another bolt of electricity at it. "Hahahaha! Take this!"

In an instant, the shadow promptly disappeared once the lightning struck it's target, vanishing into nothingness and the cave fell into silence. Released from the shadow's control, Lucy slumped to the floor at once.

"Huh? Uh...What...? Whoa, hold up! That...That's _it_?" The bird squawked in surprise as V climbed further inside the cave with Shadow's help, spotting the girl who was now lying on the ground with her eyes closed. Against the cold and damp cavern floor, she was stark naked before the group, the black wedding dress and other garments vanishing in dark wisps.

V dropped to his knees before her and lifted her limp form into his arms, shaking her. "Lucy?"

Her head lolled around in the crook of his elbow before she started to stir and mumble. "Nngh..."

He exhaled a sigh of relief before holding her close to him, resting his chin atop her head and rubbing the length of her arm in a bid to keep her warm. She continued to groan and moan until her eyes opened and she looked up and around, then her hazy gaze focused on V before she ultimately threw a glance down to herself where she saw that she was wholly nude for unknown reasons. Eyes widening, she gasped and pushed him away and covered herself up with her arms as much as she could, scrabbling away to hide behind the nearest rock she could find. Her cheeks burning, she turned away from V, shaking slightly.

"No use covering it up, lady. We've seen it all before!" Griffon shouted loudly, snorting with laughter.

"What?" She squeaked out.

Griffon continued, "No shit! You really think you came packing with a shirt and a pair of panties when V brought you back?"

"What happened? Where are my clothes?"

As usual, the bird of course, was absolutely no consolation whatsoever; V approached her calmly, removing his leather coat and draping it around Lucy's quivering shoulders although when she felt the cool material over herself she leapt somewhat before throwing a meek glance over her bare shoulder, where a half-naked V stood. She looked up at him, eyeing the impressive collage of tattoos that were sprawled all over his entire torso, covering the thin sinewy lines of his lean muscles, his thin but pale frame, and she immediately glanced away, her cheeks dusted with pink.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" V asked quietly.

"No."

Griffon threw a quick glance to V, who moved towards her, holding his hand out. "...We should return to Hag."

"Why did you save me?" She mumbled dejectedly, as she wrapped his jacket over herself, pulling the taut lapels as tightly as they could go over her chest and he helped her up to stand, hand gripping her arm. Her bare legs wobbled slightly and she had to hold onto him for support.

Griffon arrived at a rock beside them and perched himself, "What? No _thank you_? Well, aren't you just delightful? We could've just let you get - " He was interrupted by V holding up his cane, silencing the bird. "_You're welcome(!)._" Griffon continued to hoot at Lucy as V reached for her again but she avoided him and moved to the side.

"What happened?" She asked.

"...A demon took you."

"Again?"

"You have no recollection?"

She shook her head. "I just remembered we returned to the room and I...I saw something then blacked out." Her voice was laced with weariness and frustration.

Although he wondered if she was telling the truth, he merely said, "I see. You're safe now."

Lucy seemed agitated. "That's not the point, V. I've lost count of how many times demons have gone after me, and I'm so goddamned tired of it. Why am I even here? I don't belong here and I don't want to be here. Why did you do this to me? Do you know what happened between me and Vergil? He was everything I had in this miserable world, in my miserable life...and I _lost_ him. It's been constantly on my mind since I woke up...and it was me. I did it. It was all my fault! Because of me, he went with another woman! He was the best thing to happen to me...he was all I had and I lost him. I have nothing!" Becoming increasingly angered, she was beginning to yell, "I have _no-one_! Nobody cares for me, I have no friends, no family! And demons keep going after me! I am so sick and tired of this meaningless existence. What is the point in me being here?!"

"Psst. V. She's gone cuckoo again." Griffon hissed.

"Why the hell am I even here?!" Lucy cried, and tears were beginning to prickle the corner of her eyes, "What is the point in my existence?! Tell me, V! TELL ME!"

Her voice echoed around the cave. When it dissipated, a long and uncomfortable, stony silence followed her outburst. Her expression was dark as she squeezed her eyes shut and thick tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"You say no-one cares for you?" V said softly, "...Would you be content as long as there is one person who does? Would you be content if that person is me?"

The cave fell silent.

"...What?" Lucy breathed, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It may not be much for I am human...but I would gladly offer you everything that I am and what I have. Be it my heart, body and soul. I'll give you everything. You need not reciprocate... just be aware that _I care_, Lucy." He murmured, "I care for you, deeply so."

Her eyes widened slightly. _...Didn't Vergil say something like that to me before?_

"Will you have me, Lucy?"

She burst out of her thoughts and stared at him in muted shock. Before Griffon could make any of his derisive comments, V recalled him and the bird let out an angered squawk, wings flapping as he disappeared into the ink on V's body. "It was just getting good!" Griffon's voice echoed around the lonely walls of the cave. Lucy clutched the flimsy jacket to herself as V proceeded to hold his hand out to her. Throwing her glimpse to his hand briefly, she met his gaze and she found her cheeks warmer than usual, her heart pounding a little faster. Ahh, how strange...how strange that she was feeling this pleasant warmness blooming in her chest once again. She didn't think she was capable of experiencing such emotion in her life once more. It had been such a long time since she felt these feelings...There was only one way to describe it: what a wondrous emotion. Such a beautiful, pure and raw emotion... It had been so long. Perhaps too long. Did it matter who V really was? She had tried so hard and wasted much thought and time trying to identify him when it didn't occur to her how much he had been looking after her during their entire journey. The man had done nothing but keep her safe and he was very fond of her. Maybe that should be enough.

Finally, Lucy nodded, dabbing at the corner of her eyes.

"...I know you think of Vergil." V added, when she grew considerably quiet and seemingly unable to meet his gaze, instead, choosing to stare rather intensely at her bare toes. "...I'm not asking you to forget him. You still love Vergil very much. I understand, but I will always be here for you. I will never abandon you."

She bit on her lip. "V..." She croaked out, and she turned to him and suddenly, she was shoved forwards thanks to Shadow who had appeared behind her, nudging her further towards his direction and she would've fallen if V hadn't caught her in time, snaking his arms around her waist tightly and her hands landed on his shoulders, their gazes meeting. Her cheeks went even warmer than usual as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Her heartbeat sped up, chest constricting, gut clenching. Somehow, she couldn't find herself tearing away from his embrace... Instead, she slowly, very slowly, wrapped her arms around him in return. It occurred to her...and it was a very basic thought, a very basic desire...

Lucy simply wanted to be held.

He offered her a thin but relieved smile as he held her tightly, inhaling her scent, relishing the feel of her hair brushing against his cheek. Finally, she was in his arms; something he longed for for a long time. She was so warm...and the rhythmic thud of her heartbeat was assuring to hear... he was thoroughly reminded how very much alive she was again. He did this. He made this possible. He did not mean to cause her pain, but she was by his side once more and he did not want her to be alone. He longed to tell her the truth to spare her the agony and he knew she would only continue to suffer unless she found out herself. Should she find out, he wondered how she would react. Those would be thoughts for another day, because all that mattered was the present. They stayed together in a tight embrace; one he did not want to leave. However, all good things must come to an end and he murmured, "We should return. Hag will be worried."

Nodding, she said, "Okay."

...

**A few days later.**

Since traveling with V, she hadn't had a wink of good night's sleep until recently. Lucy woke up early in the morning to see Hag at the front porch, packing her belongings. The witch had helped her create a ward that kept the demons away (inclusive of whatever that had gone after her a few nights ago) much to her relief. It was a mark on the back of her neck, which should last a few weeks or so. Hag taught her to reapply it from hereon after. Upon entering the porch, she could see Circe in the field, lying amongst the bright flowers, dozing under the sun. Lucy went to help Hag but then the witch pointed to a black-clad figure seated on the soft grass under the canopy of a tree a distance away, reading a book.

"You should go to him." Hag said with a smile.

Lucy glanced at the empty boxes and heaps of strange ingredients in jars which the old witch had laid out on the floor. "You need help with this, Hag."

The witch shook her head. "Oho. Don't mind me, I'm just doing some spring cleaning. The young man offered to help me too, but he needs proper rest. Go talk to him."

Lucy nodded, then headed out to the field and approached the dark-haired man as he carefully turned a page and plopped herself beside him on the grass. He glanced away from his book, to her, and smiled. "Good morning, Lucy."

"Good morning, V."

He'd chosen a nice spot to read; it was cool out here, with the canopy of the large tree casting a great of shade that was solely needed considering the intensity of the sun. V was reading to himself silently but upon her arrival, he turned to her and asked, "Would you like me to read to you today?"

She peered over his shoulder to see the contents page. "Sure, but...I was thinking...Why don't you try writing a poem yourself?"

V seemed mildly surprised by her answer. "I...haven't thought of doing so."

"You could give it a shot."

He smiled at her fondly in return and she smiled at him before he refocused on his book. "...Perhaps..." He murmured, "I believe you will like this one very much." He neatly turned a few pages and she saw that he'd chosen a poem called '_The Garden of Love_' which he started reading aloud.

They remained there for a while; V was reading whilst Lucy sat beside him cross-legged, listening. Occasionally, she'd ask him to pause and ask him to interpret the meaning of the poem which he enjoyed sharing with her. She had a confession to make - she failed english literature in high school, which caused V to merely chuckle. Meanwhile, Griffon was perched on a rock near Circe who was lying on her belly, basking in the sun. Since the two were the only critters capable of speech, they seemed to have developed a common, mutual interest in each other although they were mostly laughing and snickering at how weak humans were and throwing insults on some occasions. Shadow had left earlier but had now returned, and she went up to V with a dead baby rabbit in her jaws. Pleased with her hunt, she moved to sit beside him and he smiled at her as she shook her fur, her tail wagging gently in the air. Placing a hand on top of her head, Shadow closed her eyes, growling gently.

Soon, Hag arrived at the porch with a tray in hands which she settled onto the foldable, rickety wooden table and some chairs that were propped up at the side. "I made brunch!" She announced, "Sandwiches, cookies and juice! Come and get it!"

Griffon was first of course; he left Circe's side and flew over to one of the seats, using it as a perch. Reaching over, he snatched one of the sandwiches in his beak and began gobbling it greedily. V glanced at Lucy, then slowly rose to stand and helped Lucy off the ground whilst she patted herself down and he wordlessly helped pluck some stray leaves out of her hair whilst she too, silently dusted him down in return. Once they were finished, they made their way to the porch and V helped Lucy into the seat beside Griffon where she glimpsed at the numerous plates of food in front of her.

"Help yourselves everyone," Hag said, as she took a cup and began pouring some juice for her and settled the cup by her empty plate.

Lucy downed the beverage, then she held her cup for more and Hag smiled and poured more. Lucy quickly drank that too, and V eased himself into a seat beside her. "Thank you, Hag." He muttered, but he did not touch any of the food.

Hag seated herself opposite them. "I was thinking, V. Lucy can stay here if she wants to. I mean...this is a second chance for her and you must have a lot on your plate. Lucy can stay with me and get better; if Lucy wishes to stay, I can take her under my wing and she can become my disciple. Lucy my dear, I'll teach you everything I know."

Both appeared surprised by Hag's offer. V and Lucy turned to look at each other in silence. She had been with him for some time now, that it would be strange if she abruptly left his side for a while. She wondered if V felt the same, and he said, "...The choice is up to Lucy." He murmured, voice low, and Lucy swallowed down the lump in her throat that had appeared from nowhere.

"What do you think?" Hag asked, as the girl glanced between V and the old woman.

"Thank you, Hag," She replied, "I'd love to become your disciple."

From the corner of her eye, she saw V slide his gaze to the side, his expression a little dour. However, she wasn't finished yet.

"But," Lucy added, "I want to stay with V."

* * *

**Meanwhile.**

She heard footsteps approaching.

Vicar Berelia looked up and threw a glance over her shoulder; spotting a tall man in a black suit with sunglasses standing behind her, looking around the vicinity. Despite standing, he seemed to be convulsing in a bizarre manner, arms rigidly at his sides, fingers twitching. "...M-May I help you?" She asked, a little cautiously.

The man did not reply immediately, choosing to further look up and around until he settled his gaze on her small form, twitching the entire time. It was difficult to discern whether he was actually looking at her due to the sunglasses, which the strange man didn't seem inclined to remove.

"...He wassss h-h-here." said the man, although the words came out in a manner of hissing and...clicking noises. "S-s-sssson of Spar...Spar...Sparda."

Berelia was frightened. "W-who?"

"You..._helped him_." The man continued to press on, taking one step towards her, reaching for her.

"Get away from me!" Berelia screamed, and she turned and fled. "Someone, help!" She regretted looking back - the man's head split apart to reveal a grey-skinned creature with grotesque, bulging red eyes and a wretched mouth with mandibles and jagged teeth. A tentacle burst out forth and stabbed into her back and out her stomach. Blood gushed out from her mouth, dripping onto the floor. She choked and gasped, vision going blurry, before everything went black.

Berelia was dead before she hit the ground.

* * *

**Notes (lots of notes today...):**

1\. Lucy's outburst was due to happen, I was planning it for a while. She was a ticking time bomb and originally, the shadow took on the form of Vergil, which finally caused her to crack because it felt like such a slap to her face. She is experiencing feelings of worthlessness, self-hatred, despair and resentment. Since she was resurrected, she can't relate to anything or anyone and she feels alienated from people. Even though she screams that no-one cares for her, there is still hag, but people often don't think straight when they're arguing so she says this kind of stuff. She was pacified when V asks if she will be content as long as one person acknowledges her existence, ie, him, to which Lucy accepts.

2\. Trish has the ability to create clothing as seen in the game, so the same thing happened to Lucy except it was the other way around, her clothes vanished LOL.

3\. I got confused myself when writing this chapter. If she accepts V, does this mean Lucy is cheating on Vergil with himself? Or should she friendzone him? Friendzone Vergil when he is V? Gosh I really don't know myself hahaha. Also, I will not have V say anything that he says in the game because I dislike using same text/same conversations over again unless its a scene from the canon but even then when I write fics I try not to use any of the canon. I feel like Urizen speaks quite robotically so he speaks the same here. Also, Lucy finally has a career path and in medicine too (lol).

4\. I couldn't choose between Evanaescence's Wake Me Up Inside or Annie's Song by John Denver for the quote. I chose Annie's Song for now lol. Also, I really wanted to call this chapter either Will of Sparda or I choose You.

5\. "_I care for you, deeply so_." - I remembered writing this somewhere and I think it's somewhere in the prequel but I can't remember where. If its not, never mind.

6\. This story is absolute AU, as the DMC timeline has been apparently confirmed as: DMC 3, DMC 1, DMC 2, DMC4, DMC 5. So the prequel is meant to be after DMC1 and then skips ahead to DMC5. But the timeline I followed is that Vergil returns after DMC1, then goes to have Nero but apparently Vergil should have had Nero before DMC 3.

7\. Finally...I'm sorry, Vicar Berelia...I'm really sorry. I don't like killing off old ladies.


	9. Mors Vincit Omnia

**MORS VINCIT OMNIA**

_"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."_

…

…

…

"Did ya find it, Shakespeare?"

"Yes." V replied with a smirk. In his hand, he was holding a dusty scroll. "I have found what we need to resurrect Lucy."

Griffon sighed heavily under his breath. "Then what are we waitin' for then?! I don't wanna waste another minute of my life in here any longer. Let's get outta here!"

"Wait." V said, before he proceeded to break the wax notarial seal and unravel the scroll.

"Hmph. Impatient fella, aren't ya?" Griffon added.

They'd spent countless of hours in the dusty and dark, ancient library searching for any sort of means to resurrect her and V had finally found what he was looking for. Despite the numerous years that had passed since he'd stepped foot into this establishment, the library hadn't changed in any shape or form; the interior was still dank and quiet, and granted with a type of tranquility not found anywhere in this world due to the remoteness and general inaccessibility of the establishment... it hadn't changed at all, with the same shelves that reached an endless height... perhaps the only new addition were the extra layers of dust and cobwebs decorating the many books and tomes it housed.

"_M__ors Vincit Omnia_." V read the title of the scroll out loud. There was not much to the scroll...aside from those words, there was an image of three grotesque beings. However, in a split second and a mass of shadows flitted out of the parchment and went shooting up and into the atmosphere, disappearing in the darkness. The candles surrounding the vicinity died immediately, bathing them in darkness.

"Hold on, I got us covered." Griffon could be heard, and he flapped his wings and created a ball of crackling electricity that hovered beside them, bobbing along in mid-air. "Did you see that?" He added, looking up and around, "You saw it too, right, V?"

"Yes…" V murmured, before they threw their glance to the scroll again.

The pictures of the demons had disappeared, leaving an empty scroll.

"Uh...what the hell, V. Like really...what in the hell?"

"…I believe we're not alone anymore."

"_Oooh, saw right through us, did you? You're special_." murmured a scratchy voice; both Griffon and V glanced up to see a dark humanoid-shape sitting atop the chandelier high above them, hiding in the darkness. Only it's gleaming ruby-red eyes were visible, along with a large row of jagged teeth as it smirked widely.

"Show yourself, ya damn coward!" The bird barked at it.

"Very well." They heard a rustle and the chandelier suddenly swung violently to and fro. The snippet of a leathery wing could be seen, along with a reptilian tail and then the ground shook before them. The scratchy voice returned, breathing heavily, "My true form usually petrifies most mortal eyes..." Stepping into the light, a scantily-clad young woman with long black hair and bright red eyes approached them. She was donned in an elaborate black and gold costume with cape, her sleeveless top exposing her midriff and her matching black pants were sheer, exposing long and thin legs. She was barefooted with many golden rings around her ankles and her wrists also heavy with gold bracelets. On her forehead was a bizarre red symbol, with a single tear-drop shaped emerald stuck over it. "I believe this form will suffice for now."

Griffon let out a loud whistle in response.

"Finally, some fresh air…it's been centuries." She added, stretching thoroughly and her top rode further up her flat stomach. Throwing her glance to V, she said, "And what a lovely sight you are on the eyes."

"Oh yes, sister, I agree….what a beautiful male." said a voice to the right and Griffon and V turned to see another young woman with identical features and the same manner of dress, climbing down the bookshelf beside them on all fours, her body contorting in a rather awkward fashion.

"I bet he tastes as good as he looks." said a third voice - this time to their left, and suddenly the two found themselves surrounded by the three identical women; the woman crawling on the bookcase landed on the ground in front of them with acrobatic flair before slowly rising to stand. The trio stood before them - triplets - and all were leering at V, excited by his appearance, looking at him up and down, eyes glinting with mischief. The two women flanking his left and right respectively began to reach for him, hands landing on his arms, running their fingertips up and down his skin.

"Smells good, too. Smells like..." Another inhaled deeply and exhaled with a rather exaggerated sigh. "...Curious...you're human...but you weren't exactly one before, were you?"

"What do you mean, sister?"

"He was half-human."

"He's lost half his soul."

"A lost one, indeed!"

As the women began to discuss amongst themselves, V said, "Who are you?"

Turning to him, the one in the middle said proudly, "I'm Grysora." She was the eldest presumably, considering she spoke first.

"And I'm Prisera." said the woman on the right.

"Cattila." said the left.

In unison, they said, "And you released us from that filthy, horrible prison. We are forever in your debt."

"What? You mean you were stuck in this scroll?" Griffon barked, "HAHAHAH! What a bunch of losers!"

"Shut it, bird, or we'll pluck your feathers out one by one, grind your bones and bathe in your blood." snarled Grysora, baring her fangs and exposing a long, pointed tongue, her eyes narrowing into slits and the rest of her sisters followed, hissing at the bird in an animalistic manner and their lovely features eroded into a disturbing visage. The bird clammed up immediately. Turning to V, Grysora said, calmly, "You wish to resurrect someone."

And then the girls began to circle him. "But you're just a weak, little mortal with a weak, little heart."

"Dabbling in the dark arts of necromancy?"

"So brave."

"So bold."

"For whatever reason?"

"A woman, perhaps?" said Prisera.

"Yes, yes, it's always for love." Cattila said.

And Grysora said, "Be careful what you wish for,_** V**_…When one comes back from the dead, one always leave something behind…and brings something with them. Are you prepared for the consequences?"

"Yes." V said, "I am."

...

**Present.**

A few days had passed.

"Lucy?"

V was looking for the girl; she had left the room and she wasn't anywhere in the shack. He would eventually find her in the fields, sitting down cross-legged amongst the tall flowers and making a flower chain.

"Lucy?" He said when he approached, and when she looked up, she smiled widely and held up the flower chain she had been crafting. It was a beautiful ring of red, white, blue and yellow flowers and she already had one looped over her own head. Exhaling silently, V lowered himself to a crouch beside her where she leaned forwards and placed the completed flower chain over his head. Lucy grinned widely at him.

Before he could say anything, Griffon could be heard laughing raucously above; she followed V's gaze to see the bird circling overhead. "You look like a fucking moron!" The bird screeched, but she paid no heed, happy with the end result since herself and V were matching now.

"Lucy, let's go inside." He muttered gently, taking her by the arm and lifting her off the ground. He led her back into the shack where Hag was waiting.

"Where was she?" asked the witch, as Lucy and V entered the lounge.

"I found her in the fields."

"Oh, thank goodness."

Looks like they'd been searching for her for a while. V helped her sit down in an empty seat and Hag proceeded to take her wrist and applied two fingers. Lucy had simmered into silence, staring quietly into space, mouth closed, eyes glossy and blank whilst V asked, "What happens to her, Hag, when she...becomes like this?"

Hag let go and let her arm rest over the table. "...I believe she goes back to the Underworld. But she's not...actually there. It's like...her soul leaves temporarily and her body becomes an empty husk. She returns because she belongs to this world also. I'm sorry I can't explain it any better. How exactly did you resurrect Lucy, V?"

V slid his gaze to the side. "...I used a resurrection scroll which I found deep within the Divine Library." He muttered; opening his book, he flipped it to a random page and took out a piece of parchment, pulling it out. "I have kept it with me."

"May I have a look?" Hag asked, and V handed her the flimsy paper and she held it up. The old witch scrutinized the contents with much vigor. "Hm...hmm-mm...I see..._Mors Vincit Omnia_. Death conquers all...interesting." She put down the paper considering there was nothing else on the scroll apart from those three words. "I take it _something_ was here, and now they're gone?"

V nodded. "The Sisters."

Hag nodded. "I see." She put the scroll down. "...Now I understand why you have come to find me - "

Suddenly, Lucy inhaled loudly and blinked. She had returned. Yawning, she said, "I'm tired..."

Hag patted her on the hand fondly. "Everything's going to be alright, my dear. Why don't you take a bath and have a quick nap, hm?"

As she nodded and left the room, Hag said to V, "Don't worry, all will be well."

...

**Later.**

V returned to her room to hear her whimpering. He saw her in bed with the blanket lying crumpled on the floor. Although in deep sleep, she seemed to be experiencing a nightmare, her brows scrunched and she continued to curl into a fetal position, trembling. V lifted himself off the chair and with his cane, made his way to the bed and stopped by her side.

"Lucy?" He muttered, as he gingerly placed a hand on her arm. She didn't respond except shift slightly and he reached down to pick up the blanket. It was cold tonight. V rose to stand to see that she had shifted yet again and was now lying on her back; her top had ridden further up her stomach, and he stared. It also didn't quite help that Hag had given her a pair of old shorts to wear at night. Her legs were exposed before him.

Slowly, he reached for her, his palm shaking somewhat... and his palm gradually landed over one bare leg. She was warm to touch, her skin was smooth and soft.

_Yes...that's right...succumb to your emotions..._

He found his breath shortening before his hand slid just a little higher to her thigh.

_Lust...passion...desire..._

"No." He uttered under his breath, before he hurriedly withdrew his hand and draped the blanket over her. He had stopped himself in time.

"Mnngh..." She whimpered in response, "...Vergil..."

He threw his glance to her.

_See how piteously she moans for you? She wants you...and you want her too._

He closed his eyes.

His emotions were spilling everywhere.

_Give into it...After all, that's what being human is all about..._

...

**Next day.**

Lucy and V had been assisting Hag with her move, helping her pack the remainder of her belongings. She had chosen another woodland to be her new home, one which was even further away from civilisation but apparently closer to the sea. She would build a hut once she arrived, to which Lucy had asked how she would do so, but apparently Hag had a few tricks up her sleeve so she didn't question her.

The old witch didn't have many items left to pack. Using various messenger, luggage-carrying ravens, she'd sent them off one by one to carry her boxes and bags away, enchanting the birds with spells to carry triple or quadruple their weight - and then Lucy had passed Hag's room with a cardboard box in arms and spotted the witch inside going through several items of clothing although they only consisted of ragged robes. It was rather amusing as she saw her fold up one gray robe after the other and placing them neatly in a woven case. She assumed Hag didn't go on many holidays or did much shopping. In the kitchen, which once housed many dead bodies and severed body parts, was now free of limbs, but she was still afraid to step foot inside it and sometimes at night, she often saw and heard things which certainly didn't belong to this world. Hag told her to ignore them as they were harmless but restless spirits (...although that still did not help you feel any better, no). It was a good thing that she shared a room with V.

Speaking of V...Lucy discovered that V's hair was white.

She didn't realize until he summoned his massive golem, Nightmare, in order to move and destroy some debris that was littering Hag's shack. Not only was Lucy subjected to a radiant show of meteorites and fire tumbling from the sky and slamming into the ground before a large, towering creature emerged, and suddenly V's hair had turned from sleek black to silvery white.

Like Vergil's and Dante's.

She was sorting out some jars which contained a variety of ingredients from bug wings to random herbs to be put into a box but as soon as V summoned the golem and she stared, stuck in her thoughts until something soft and furry plopped itself underneath the base of her palm and she blinked, snapping out of her thoughts to see V's large panther beside her, snuggling into her hand. It's glorious red eyes were closed as it purred. Ah yes, she was beginning to warm up to his familiars and vice versa. Something wet and squishy dropped on the floor by her foot next, and she stared to see a dead rat. The panther, whom Lucy had discovered was called _Shadow_, had given her a gift. A gesture of goodwill, you supposed.

"Good kitty." Lucy murmured, placing one jar on the ground to stroke the top of her head before she moved to her belly. Despite being incredibly dangerous and deadly, Shadow was playful and docile. Lucy gave her one hefty pat and she plodded off toward's V's direction.

In all honesty, the sooner they left Hag's shack, the better. However, V was still resting; his wound was beginning to heal but she told the man to take it easy considering he'd been traveling a lot without much proper, well-needed rest, nor did he even eat or drink much. His thin frame was a little worrying but he assured her he was well and they would be able to leave in a few day's time. Lucy also needed to rest too.

After she finished packing up another box, she tied it to the enchanted raven's little feet who took off into the sky with the massive box in tow. Surely people would see that, no? Scratching her head, she fixed the remainder of the boxes to the rest of the ravens and once all boxes were gone, all birds had taken to the sky, delivering the items to Hag's new home.

"Phew, all done." Lucy muttered. Hag had given her a little cloth which she used to wipe some sweat from her brow and then the back of the neck and when she pulled the cloth away, she saw that there was a black smudge on it. Oops... must be the mark. Although it was meant to last a few weeks, it looked like it would need some reapplying.

A few hours later and Lucy saw V in the fields, sitting beneath the large tree with his book in hands as usual. He had taken a liking to that tree, considering he spent lots of time in that spot. She headed towards him, wading through the tall flowers and once she arrived, she was about to sit down until she noticed that V was in fact, writing something in his book and he abruptly stopped upon her arrival.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"...Ah, nothing of much interest, I was - "

From out of nowhere, Griffon appeared to V's left and with his beak, snatched something out from the book and before V could grab him, he flew away and out of V's reach, cackling. "Oh my my my, what do we have here? Ohhhhohoho...is this - _It is_!" Griffon exclaimed excitedly as he settled down on a tree branch that was far too high up, and V stood up, eyeing the bird with much disdain. Griffon cleared his throat as he shook the flimsy item in his beak - which turned out to be a piece of paper, and unraveling it before him, Griffon began to read aloud. "_Thoughts of you surround me. You're the beating of my heart. The love you give defines me. My life is no longer dark_."

Lucy blinked whilst a silent V lowered his gaze and pinched the bridge of his nose.

As Griffon started snorting with laughter, she turned to the silent man. "V, you wrote that?" She asked, and he turned to her, nodding briefly. V was writing poetry! Lucy found herself smiling widely, knowing that he had taken her suggestion onboard. "That was really good! Is there more?"

Now he seemed stunned. "I...was working on it." He muttered, and Griffon returned the paper to V and flew off the branch, deciding to rest atop Lucy's head.

"I'll leave you to it then." She said, "By the way...After we finish up here, could we go to Dante's shop? I want to see him. You know who he is and where he lives, right?"

"Of course..."

"He's still there?"

He threw his gaze to the side. "...Not exactly...but yes, I can take you there, Lucy."

"What do you mean? Is he on a job?"

"That's right." V replied, before he settled himself to sit on the ground with his book. He didn't disclose further information...

Finding Dante should be the next course of action. She wondered how much he would've changed over the course of twenty something years. What would he look like? Would he still be single? She hoped he'd met someone, a nice girl. However, from what V had just informed her, it looked like Dante hadn't actually settled down yet. Lucy couldn't wait to see Dante again. She could ask Dante if he knew anything about Vergil and perhaps fill her on what had happened over the past years...although she wasn't sure if she really wanted to find out what happened to Vergil and where he was. She guessed it wouldn't hurt to ask, right...?

Following that conversation, she decided to leave V alone for a while so he could finish his poem; Lucy threw her gaze up to the bird instead. "What's wrong? You want to come with me?"

"That depends, where are you going to go?" Griffon asked, folding his wings properly.

"I was going to go back inside to grab something to eat."

"Then yeah, I am going with you. Lead the way, sister." Griffon replied, and she left with Griffon atop her head and hitching a ride. She made her way to Hag's shack and entered the kitchen where Hag had leftover food on the table in case anyone was hungry. "Whoo boy, can't believe Shakespeare was really writing poetry, hah!" The bird cackled as he hopped off and settled himself on the surface of the table to peck at a few leftover sandwiches.

"It was a nice poem, Griffon."

The bird peered at her. "He was writing it for you, obviously."

"Huh?" She uttered, and she heard Griffon emit a huff of disbelief before he began spewing forth a bunch of insults at her cluelessness, but she was absorbed in her own thoughts.

V was writing poetry for her...

Lucy couldn't help but smile.

As Griffon continued wolfing down the food, it was then she spotted something white dislodging from Griffon's wing and flopping onto the floor. "Griffon, you dropped something." Lucy murmured, lowering herself to a crouch to pick it up. It was a folded piece of paper, although it seemed rather old and brittle...maybe it was a page from V's book which Griffon had accidentally ripped out? Unfolding it, she noticed there were only three words on the parchment that was scribbled in black ink. "_M__ors... Vincit Omnia...?_" She read aloud. What the heck did that mean?

When Lucy looked up, Griffon was gone and instead, three identical looking women were standing before her, smiling wickedly.

...

V returned to the shack after a few hours.

He'd finished his poem.

"Lucy?" V called; according to Hag, the witch had informed him that she'd been cooped up in her room for the rest of the day. Stopping at her door, he knocked gently and waited for a response. There was none but the door swung open gently, revealing an empty room. He stepped inside, glancing around. She wasn't seated at the table nor was she on the bed, the sheets folded neatly and pillow untouched. Where was she? "Lucy?"

He heard footsteps from behind him and then a pair of hands slipped over his eyes and a breathy voice whispered seductively in his ear, "Guess who?"

He rose a brow, placing his hand gently over hers, lowering her palm away. "Lucy," V began, turning round to see her standing very close, smiling, "…What are you…"

"How nice of you to come to my room, V. I was waiting for you." She said, looking up at him from beneath her lashes. She kicked the door shut behind her, the door slamming in its hinges and then she promptly shoved him over her awaiting bed.

He immediately knew something was off. As he attempted to get up, pushing himself off the mattress using the back of his elbows, Griffon appeared in a burst of black, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it, what's goin' on? What - "

She grabbed the bird, hand shooting out in a second and clamping his beak together, "Don't interrupt us, your master and I are busy." She said, smirking mischievously and as she let go, Griffon vanished at once.

"Be gentle!" Griffon yelled. He let out a reluctant squawk and was simply...gone. She smirked in response.

"Wait - " V started, but when she proceeded to crawl over him on all fours, straddle him and he went rather quiet, watching as she tossed her hair over one shoulder, settled herself to sit over his thighs and placed her hands gingerly on his chest before she leaned over and planted her lips on his neck. He went still, breath stuck in his throat.

"Mmm, doesn't this feel nice?" She was murmuring against his skin as she kissed his flesh gently, nuzzling him as she pressed her lips over the column of his neck over and over again whilst slipping her hands underneath his jacket, stroking his chest idly.

"You're not Lucy." He managed to utter out. Well, no, it _was_ Lucy, but there was an entity inside her... Attempting to move his hands, she abruptly grabbed his wrists and slammed them beside his head.

Chuckling, she clucked her tongue at him. "Don't try to escape, V... " She purred, before she started trailing her lips over the shell of his ear before moving to his cheeks and his mouth although she paused, her lips hovering over his. "Such a fine species of human you are, _Son of Sparda_."

He swallowed down as her hot, wet lips kissed his smooth, cold skin, "You're…."

"Mm, V…You taste so good…I want you so badly…." She continued, sliding her hand underneath the lapels of his jacket and over his chest once more, running her fingertips wildly over his exposed skin.

He sucked in a breath, hissing slightly as she began to untie the laces of his jacket and pulling it down his shoulders, leaving him half-naked. "Stop. Which one are you? Prisera? Cattila? Grysora?"

She seemed pleased. "You remembered our names. Impressive."

Before he could move, she had pressed her lips against his deeply, entwining her hands into his hair. He froze up completely. Gods, how she did that… it was torture to him. "Come on, V...I know you want this too..." She murmured between his lips, planting her hands on his cheeks and bringing him close, chuckling at the same time as she trailed sweet kisses over his mouth.

He closed his eyes, "...Lucy, I know you are still in there." He murmured, in between her kisses.

Nothing happened, except they were still kissing fervently until her hands loosened on him and her brows scrunched, eyes squeezing shut and he thought she'd stop but then she grinned against his mouth, chuckling. "It's no use, V. Give in to your little rampant human emotions…_lust, love, passion, desire_…give me everything… and I'll reward you nicely…" She murmured before she pulled away and started to remove her clothes; he was watching as she unfastened the top button of her shirt, popping it open, followed by the next and the one after… then she sat up and started pulling her shirt apart slowly to reveal her bra. Smirking, she ran her hands down the middle of her cleavage, down her stomach and to the edges of her skirt which she was also beginning to tug upwards, the material slowly and daintily lifting away to reveal more and more of her thighs. Their eyes met; this was not Lucy at all, it was the Three Sisters, whom he knew were up to no good. Her eyes were an interesting shade of red, indicating her possession, her eyes dark and wild.

His cane was still beside him. She didn't even notice...wasn't even paying attention to it.

"This body...not exactly what we wanted, but it'll do..." She murmured, before she smirked and as she began to lift her skirt up even further for him, he hastily grabbed his cane and stabbed the edge over the middle of her forehead.

Having being taken by surprise, she screamed and suddenly the door slammed open - Hag came in just as three shadowy forms promptly flew out of Lucy's body and with an open gourd in hand, the shadows were immediately sucked inside in a mingle of unearthly shrieks and screams despite having attempted to head for the window. Hag quickly slapped a lid over the gourd and settled it on the table, then rushed over with a bowl full of a murky brown concoction which she made her drink. When Hag let go of her, she coughed and slumped backwards but he was quick to sit up and grab her and she flopped against his chest.

"Lucy?" He muttered, shaking her.

"She'll be fine."

"What did you make her drink?"

"Well, she just got possessed by three demons, hopefully it should make her feel better. I'll uh...I'll leave you two alone." With that, Hag left the room with the gourd.

"Thank you, Hag." V said, throwing his gaze to the girl in his arms.

She was very much awake, however, and she quickly pushed herself out of V's lap to stand, taking note of her unbuttoned shirt which she began to fasten up immediately before pulling her skirt down. An awful silence filled the room.

"…Are you alright?" V asked, however she didn't reply and left the room hurriedly.

* * *

**Notes.**

1\. The poem is called "So Happy and Proud" by Scott Sabatani. Sorry folks, I'm not creative enough and I suck at poetry myself. This chapter's quote is also from the Bible, John 2:16

2\. Grysora, Prisera and Cattila are a trio of succubi demon sisters called the Ardat Lili. Lucy had also been possessed at least once before in the prequel too.

3\. Almost forgot to add, V's affection for Lucy is inspired by courtly love.


	10. Don't Leave Me

**DON'T LEAVE ME**

_"The desolate wind, the widespread fog, the rolling rain, the boundless snow,_

_Every step you take I will accompany you,_

_Hold my hand, do not be frightened, no matter what happens tomorrow,_

_Even if we are destined to wander, to the ends of the world."_

...

...

It had been a long night of preparation for his upcoming trip to Red Grave City and Dante returned to his shop, whistling jovially as he opened the door only to spot a lone woman standing in front of his desk with her back to him. Whoa. First, the mysterious one named V and now this woman? Two clients at once?! He'd never been this lucky. However, this woman looked surprisingly suspiciously _familiar_...and he stopped at once, breath lodged in his throat in disbelief once she turned round. He knew this woman. It had been a few years but she hadn't changed at all. She promptly lifted up the sunglasses from her eyes, leaving them to rest over the crown of her head, dark green eyes settling on his form.

"Hello, Dante." She said quietly.

His jaw went slack as he looked at her from head to toe. She was dressed in a white blazer, black top, pencil skirt and matching mid-heels. Her human form. "...Mia?"

She smiled, a little anxiously. "It's been a while."

"Mi!" He exclaimed as he dived for her in seconds, letting the door slam shut behind him and he seized her by the waist, crushing her into his chest. Stunned, she blinked wide-eyed until he started burying his nose into her hair and finally, she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. "Mi...I didn't think you'd...You came back." He murmured, and she let out a weak chuckle, nodding.

"Yes, I came back."

"Baby, you came back to me." He repeated, and when he let go of her, she was dabbing at the corner of her eyes and he could see her eyeliner smudging, her mascara running. He let go of her to plant his large hands on her shoulders, grinned and peered at her, then plopped one hand on top of her, ruffling her hair before cupping her cheeks. "Where did you go?"

"...Nowhere in particular, just...the ocean. Specifically, the Pacific."

He chuckled. "Look at you...all these years and you haven't changed one bit. I missed ya."

She gave him a wry smile briefly but then dropped it quickly. "I missed you too. I'm sorry, Dante. Can you ever forgive me?" She said, gazing at him in return. She took note of how grizzled he looked, his stubble, change of outfit and the fine lines under his eyes and his jowls.

"'Course I forgive you." He muttered and they exchanged a tight hug, "But I gotta go now."

"What do you mean?"

"I got a job. There's a big, nasty demon in Red Grave City that needs to be taken care of."

She appeared at a loss. "...But I just got here."

"I know, I'm sorry, babe." He said, and she lowered her gaze to the ground.

"Then I'll come with you."

He shook his head. "You can't. Mi, just stay here and wait for me." He said, "Stay here and watch the shop for me. I'll be back, I promise."

...

**Present. **

... Apparently V had seen her naked (twice even), and now this. She'd been possessed by three demons and attempted to seduce him. She didn't remember being possessed and she didn't remember what she had done or what had been said, except when she came to she was straddling him, her shirt was unbuttoned and her skirt was shamelessly pulled up to her thighs. Scrubbing a hand over her face, Lucy had initially wondered how things could get any awkward between her and V and now _this had really taken the cake_.

"Look what I found!" Hag could be heard exclaiming, and Lucy was not focusing because she was so wrapped up with many thoughts; for instance, she believed she should take her leave by all means for she could not face the man or look at him properly in the eye anymore following that incident.

However, throwing a quick glimpse over her shoulder and she saw Hag with a violin and its correlating bow in hands. They were_ still_ helping Hag pack. Hobbling over to V, Hag said, "Can you play?"

V looked at her silently then took the violin off her hands. It was dusty and old before he lifted the instrument over his bare shoulder, lowered his chin over the black rest and further nudged the violin into appropriate position and began gently pulling the bow over the strings. Hag's eyes widened before she gleamed as a nice melody began playing. Lucy twitched slightly but otherwise paid no further heed and continued in her packing.

Griffon could be heard, "Playing the violin? Who knew? What other tricks do you have up your sleeve, pretty boy?"

V stopped and put it down. "...That's all I know." He murmured, before he threw a glance to Lucy's direction. She stayed a good distance away from the group, quiet and keeping to herself as she packed.

...

**Meanwhile.**

"_Dante? Dante? Hello, it's me, Patty! You totally missed my eighteenth birthday party! Like, where were you? And why aren't you returning any of my calls? What's wrong with your line anyway? I can't even get through, it's always engaged_ \- "

She placed the phone on the holder, effectively putting a stop to the voicemail left behind by a cheery young woman name 'Patty'. She didn't know this girl although Dante had mentioned her once. Glancing around the empty office, she slid off Dante's chair and walked towards the stairs. It had been a while but Dante's shop remained the same - old, a tad dusty, messy and seemingly always out of power or water. Heading up the stairs, she slipped into the bedroom she once shared with the devil hunter and glanced around. He'd changed the bed. That was the only thing that was different.

Suddenly, she heard the front doors opening rather roughly, the doors slamming against the wall and the hinges squeaking.

"Hello? Anyone here? Morrison?" yelled a loud voice.

Leaving the bedroom, she walked to the banister and glanced over to the entrance. A young man stood as he dusted himself down, looking up and around and certainly looking rather out of place. He was pale, white-haired, young, looking a bit angry too. The fact that he had one arm was really the first thing that caught her attention though. She proceeded to head downstairs to greet him. "May I help you?" She asked; however, upon closer inspection she squinted her eyes at the young man and said, "Wait, you're..."

"Huh?" He said, glancing at her, "Where's Morrison?"

"Morrison's not here."

The young man rose a brow. Instead of replying to her comment, he looked at her up and down and then said, "Who are you?"

"I'm Mia," She paused briefly, before adding, "Dante's mate."

He let out a choked, rasping noise. "Mate?"

"Yeah." She couldn't help it, she stared at where his arm should be which he noticed and she saw his brows furrow somewhat. She looked away immediately and said quickly, "Ah, I remember you now. I saw you in the ocean before. Dante told me your name is Nero; you're the deadweight."

"WHAT?!" He roared, before he grunted under the breath, "Bastard..."

"Why don't you have a seat, Nero?" Mia said, gesturing to the lounge whilst ushering him to take a seat on the couch. "Come on in."

He seemed disgruntled, "I didn't come here for coffee. Just passin' by. I should take off."

"You don't want to stay for a while?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"Nice meeting ya."

"Nice to meet you too. Bye."

Mia watched as Nero promptly left the shop and stalk down the streets before she returned to the main desk and resumed in her dusting.

...

**A few days later. Night-time.**

"You are leaving."

Lucy turned round to see the snake rising through the fields. "Shhh, not so loud, Circe." Lucy said; she was sitting on the front porch, tying her shoes with a backpack full of necessities slung over her shoulders. She rose to stand once she tied her laces properly and threw her glance to the side as the snake slithered up the steps and peered at her.

"Why?"

"...It's awkward." She muttered, "Didn't Hag tell you what happened?"

"Yes, my master told me you had shamelessly thrown yourself over that human male in an attempt to seduce him." The snake said with a snicker, eyes glowing with mischief, "But you _were_ possessed by three demons. Succubi, nonetheless. You should...'cut yourself some slack'."

Lucy sighed heavily under her breath upon the not-so-friendly reminder of what had happened approximately a couple of days ago. "I don't think I can be around V with a straight face anymore."

"You should return, Lucy. Master said you aren't better yet and it's not safe if you wander around alone."

"I'll be fine. I'm just going to find Dante." With that said, Lucy began to head towards the direction of the trees and Circe followed after her.

"Ah, Dante. Good idea." said the snake, "I accompanied him on a few missions a long time ago. It was very exciting. Very well, I'll accompany you too for a while...I'll help guide you out of the woods."

Lucy was surprised and stopped in her tracks. "...Thanks, Circe."

"Don't get used to it. I'll just be leading the way, that's all." Circe hissed, and began to slither in front of her through the trees and towards the direction of the path.

Lucy inwardly swallowed. Although she didn't exactly want to leave, nor did she really want to leave in the middle of the night, she felt as though she needed some space. Despite wanting to stay with V, the incident left her very disoriented and unhappy with herself although V assured her he knew what had happened and luckily they had exorcised the demons from her body in time, she felt embarrassed and uncomfortable to be around him. Deciding to leave, she left him a note explaining her reasons, thanked him for his care, and informed him that she would be going to find Dante. She wasn't abandoning him or disregarding his feelings for her completely. She just required some much needed personal space and room to breathe.

With Circe guiding the way through the dark and freezing Deathwoods, Lucy was safe from getting lost and attacking demons for Circe was quick to dispose of them. Circe was indeed powerful, and Lucy felt at ease knowing the snake was on her side. She constantly threw glances over her shoulder, causing Circe to stop at least on a few occasions. The third time the snake stopped, Lucy stopped also.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"...Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Circe replied, "Because I'm getting the feeling you don't really want to."

The girl shook her head. "No, I do. I have to leave."

Circe huffed and a brief silence spawned until she added, "That man...that human, _**V**_. There's something unsettling about him. I don't like him."

"Why?"

"I _abhor_ him." The snake said, lifting her head that she rose above Lucy and half her body left the ground, "I feel a sense of familiarity to him, as though I have known him before. I'm over five hundred years old and I do not remember ever seeing his face, but...I feel an animosity towards him, the same as I do towards Vergil."

"_Vergil_?"

And the snake nodded. "I have few enemies...but I have never been inferred with such loathing and hatred towards and from this man...even though I, myself, have not spoken to him much, if at all. I cannot explain this hatred."

Lucy pondered. _Circe can't stand V...even though she barely knows him?_

"Never mind that." Circe said with a snort, "It is strange to dwell on this matter any further. The thought of his existence, his entire being, repulses me. Perhaps I knew him from a past life, and he is indebted to me somehow."

Circe continued guiding Lucy out of the woods until she finally arrived at the entrance where the path ended and Lucy could see the familiar stretch of the interstate and the occasional car and truck zooming past. High above and she could see the full moon and the spray of stars in the dark sky, and in the distance away, she could see the small flicker of light from a settlement - probably a motel or something. It was truly bizarre... here she was just a fraction away from oblivious, normal humans, well aware that she had a mythical, talking snake companion beside her which was almost double her height if Circe stretched up properly...

"This is it." Circe said, snapping her out of her thoughts, "I'll be returning to master. Be safe, Lucy."

"Thanks, Circe. See ya."

"Goodbye."

Lucy watched the snake slither back inside the dark woodland and she was alone. Sighing, Lucy began to head towards the direction of the interstate; she had only taken one step when from out of nowhere, a familiar bird came bursting out from one of the trees and she leapt, turning to the source of the noise as the bird flew over to her side. "Griffon!" Lucy exclaimed in shock, "What are you doing here?"

He shook his head. "So, you're really leavin'...you're gonna break his heart."

She bit her lip. "I'm going to Dante's shop. Tell V I'm sorry."

The bird sighed loudly. "I got a better idea: why don't you tell him yourself?"

"Griffon..."

"Whatever, V wanted me to give you this anyway." He said, and her eyes widened. Did V know she was leaving already? As Griffon gestured to a white folded paper that was he was holding in his claws, Lucy reached over and grabbed it, unraveled the paper to see that it was V's completed poem. It read:

_Thoughts of you surround me._  
_You're the beating of my heart._  
_The love you give defines me._  
_My life is no longer dark._

_You give your hand so sweetly._  
_I am lost if you're away._  
_You have me so completely._  
_I cherish you night and day._

_Without your breath I cannot live._  
_I need your lips on mine._  
_Nothing at all I wouldn't give._  
_I'll take nothing and be fine._

Lucy stared.

She reread the poem again. Then another time.

Biting down on her lip, the corner of her eyes were beginning to prickle with hot, wet tears. She sniffed, smothered the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand. Looking up, she saw that Griffon was still here, beside her.

"Griffon." She said, clutching the sheet tightly in her hands.

The bird sighed heavily. "...You two are really somethin', you know that?"

"Where is he?" Glancing around, it was too dark to see anyone or anything.

"Not too far behind."

Then what the hell was she waiting for? Adjusting the straps her bag, Lucy took off into a sprint back towards the woods. She had a brief moment of clarity, and running through her mind at this minute were thoughts of V. He had done so much for her and they had traveled together for a while now. He cared for her and Lucy realized she cared for him too.

_How could I do this to him?_

She picked up pace.

"Wait up!" Griffon yelled, trailing after her.

Lucy frantically raced into the woods. She didn't have to go far as she soon saw the familiar figure of V, panting slightly with his cane in hand. She was surprised that Shadow was nowhere to be seen and it looked like he'd made his way out here on his own. "V!" She exclaimed and he saw her, his thin lips spreading to a smile.

"...Lucy." He muttered, a little breathlessly. He stopped by a random tree, attempting to recuperate.

"V!" She stopped before him and promptly threw her arms around his neck. "V, I'm sorry."

He chuckled weakly, wrapping his arms around her in return.

"I'm so sorry," She said, closing her eyes as she felt his arms tighten around her waist, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

* * *

**Notes.**

Um okay... I came back to this fic after a month long hiatus... I can't remember the feel of the story so far but I need to go on hiatus again to get my shit together. By shit, I mean life haha. Anyway, please see below for this chapter's notes -

1\. Yay! Dante! Yay Nero! And Mia returns! She's the OC from my first ever fanfic on this board... Siren. Uh...since it was written 7 years ago(?!), please do not read it. It's so embarrassing... you don't need to know much about Mia, she was written as Dante's mate and she is a water demon. She left him after she accidentally triggered her demon form and ate a few humans, and Dante was forced to fight her and she returned to the ocean. In this chapter, she has returned, seeking redemption. The sequence of my fics should therefore be: Before I Die Alone, then Siren, and now Stay With Me.

2\. Devil May Cry introduces us to various demons of all forms, levels and sizes. The majority of the demons I write about are modeled from religious origins of demons ie, Christianity, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism. I've based demons using a particular type of order, but not canon in any manner, such as below so its easier for readers to imagine:

Demon hierarchy: (Weakest to Strongest:)

Lesser demon (normal demons you fight in the game/Aramis/Reaper demon)

Demon (Dante, Vergil, Nero, Hag)

Deity (Circe)

Ancient/God-like (does not need to be a living being such as Qliphoth/Tim)

Most of the demons at deity or ancient level are not particularly concerned with wreaking havoc on humans.

3\. The quote is from a show I started watching on Netflix called Eternal Love, which also helped me write a part of this fic because it's about past lives and how people are connected. It's the english translation of the theme song lyrics. It's awesome! Also, here Circe mentions she hates V, but only because she despises Vergil so she feels a strong hatred for him too. She ends up thinking that she may have known him from a past life and they had a vendetta which carried into their next lives because it was so intense.


End file.
